Perry Caldwell DeBardeleben, Jr., M.D.

Beloved Selma physician Perry Caldwell DeBardeleben, Jr. died on December 28, 2024. He was born on April 9, 1930, the son of Perry Caldwell DeBardeleben and Louise Rowell DeBardeleben. He attended Selma Public Schools and was graduated from Albert G. Parrish High School in 1948. In 1952, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Alabama. While there he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Jasons honorary societies. He also participated in ROTC, rising to the rank of cadet colonel and being awarded the Distinguished Cadet medal his senior year.

Upon graduation he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He received his M.D. degree from Tulane University in 1956. He was a member of the Phi Chi Medical fraternity, serving as the presiding senior in 1955-56. He completed a one-year rotating internship and first year of Internal Medicine residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.

In 1958, he was called into active military service at Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, where he was an instructor in Internal Medicine at the School of Aviation Medicine. After receiving an honorable discharge from active duty in 1960, he and his family moved to Dallas, TX, to complete his final two years of Internal Medicine residency at Parkland Hospital.

In 1962 the family returned to Selma where he began a 45-year practice of Internal Medicine, 43 of them with his good friend, Dr. William Hinson. They were later joined by Drs. Archie Davis, Michael Murray, and Michael Soppet as Selma Internal Medicine Associates. His last three years were spent at the Selma Doctors' Clinic. Throughout his years of practice, Dr. DeBardeleben served his patients with uncommon devotion, intelligence, and kindness. He provided a level of care and constancy which endeared him to generations of families.

Following retirement at age 78, he continued to serve patients for 13 years as a volunteer at Vaughan Regional Medical Center in the medical records department, reviewing patients' charts for accuracy in documentation. No matter how Dr. DeBardeleben served this community, his colleagues held him in the highest personal and professional regard.

Dr. DeBardeleben was certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and was a member of the Alabama College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, and the Medical Society of the State of Alabama. During the 1970s he was active in the Alabama affiliate of the American Heart Association, serving as its president in 1979-1980. In 1979 he was elected to the Best Doctors in America, Southern Region. Dr. DeBardeleben also served on the Boards of Directors of the New Vaughan Memorial Hospital, the Vaughan Medical Foundation, Town and Country and the Selma branch of AmSouth Bank. He was a longstanding member of First Presbyterian Church (now, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church) where he served as deacon and elder.

In 1956, he was married to the love of his life and best friend, Lisa McMilion, a marriage cut short by her untimely death to cancer in 1986 at the age of 50. They were blessed by the birth of four devoted children. In 1987, he was married to the other love of his life and best friend, Patty Talley Murfee. They had 37 happy years together, traveling the world and enjoying gatherings for friends and family.

Dr. DeBardeleben is survived by his wife Patty, his four children, Cameron (Andy) Robins, Lisa (Jim) Medley, Perry C. (Cathy) DeBardeleben, III and Perry Childs; twelve grandchildren, six great-grandchildren; stepson, John (Alison) Murfee, stepdaughter, Missy (Will) Ketchum and four step-grandchildren.

While these designations represent Dr. DeBardeleben's stature as a physician, a member of the community, and a family patriarch, he surpassed all of them in the way he lived his daily life: as a humble man of integrity and immovable faith. Dr. DeBardeleben was a shining example of the very best of us, and he was widely and deeply loved.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Lisa; his sister, Jewell Butler and his brothers-in-law, Dr. Charles Butler, Dr. Louis McMilion and Peter McMilion.

His funeral will be held at 1:00 pm on Monday, December 30th, at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Steve Burton and the Rev. Henry Hudson officiating and Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home directing. A private interment will follow at New Live Oak Cemetery at a later date. The family invites friends to the DeBardeleben home following the service for a visitation time with the family.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to the charity of your choice.