- George G. Ritchie
Dr. George G. Ritchie,
M.D. (25 September 1923 –29 October 2007 ) held positions aspresident of the Richmond Academy of General Practice; chairman of the Department of Psychiatry of Towers Hospital;Ritchie, G. and Sherrill, E., "Return from Tomorrow", 1978, back cover.] and founder and president of the Universal Youth Corps, Inc. for almost 20 years. In 1967, he entered privatepsychiatry practice in Richmond and in 1983, moved toAnniston ,Alabama , to serve as head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center. He returned to Richmond in 1986 to continue in private practice until retirement in 1992. [ [http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/obituaries/newsobituaries.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-10-31-0107.html Richmond Times-Dispatch obituary] , October 31, 2007. Accessed 2007-12-18.]Near-death experience
At the age of twenty, George Ritchie apparently died in an army hospital and was pronounced dead twice by the doctor on duty. [Ritchie, G. "Ordered to return: my life after dying", 1998, pp. 24-25.] Nine minutes later he returned to life. Dr. Ritchie wrote of his
near-death experience (NDE) in "Return from Tomorrow ", co-written with Elizabeth Sherrill (1978). In "Return from Tomorrow", he tells of hisout-of-body experience , [Ritchie, G. and Sherrill, E. (1978), op. cit., pp. 36-46.] his meeting withJesus Christ , [Ritchie, G. and Sherrill, E. (1978), op. cit., pp. 47-55.] and his travel with Christ through different dimensions of time and space. [Ritchie, G. and Sherrill, E. (1978), op. cit., pp. 55-74.] "Return from Tomorrow" has been translated into nine languages. [Ritchie, G. (1998), op. cit., back cover.]Ritchie's story was the first contact Dr.
Raymond Moody ,PhD had with NDEs, during his undergraduate studies inphilosophy at theUniversity of Virginia . This led Moody to investigate over 150 cases of NDEs in his book "Life After Life " [Ritchie, G. and Sherrill, E. (1978), op. cit., pp. 9-10.] and two other books that followed.Passing
Dr. Ritchie died on Monday October 29, 2007 at his home in
Irvington, Virginia , following a courageous battle with cancer.References
Bibliography
* George G. Ritchie and Elizabeth Sherrill, "Return from Tomorrow". Old Tappan, NJ: F.H. Revell, 1978. ISBN 0-80078412-X.
* George G. Ritchie, "Ordered to return: my life after dying". Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-57174096-1.External links
* [http://www.annistonstar.com/obituaries/2007/as-deaths-1031-0-7j30s4557.htm#5 Obituary] , Anniston Star, October 31, 2007. Accessed 2007-12-18.
* [http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/obituaries/newsobituaries.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-10-31-0107.html Obituary] , Richmond Times-Dispatch , October 31, 2007. Accessed 2007-12-18.
* [http://www.fbc-sav.org/book_reviews/ Book review of "Return from Tomorrow"] by Joan Fulcher, April 19, 2002. Accessed 2007-12-18.
* [http://www.near-death.com/ritch.html Heaven and Hell: Dr. George Ritchie's near-death experience] . Accessed 2007-12-18.
* [http://www.art-rageous.net/MiracleatEaster.html "Miracle at Easter"] by Sharon Barrett Kennedy: the story of a healing miracle "foretold by the Lord" to George Ritchie. Accessed 2007-12-18.
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