Charles Henderson III, M.D. '65
A skilled radiologistand active alumnus
Charles Henderson III, Commerce '61, M.D. '65, learned the value of a skilled radiologist after he had finished medical school and a residency, and while he was serving in the U.S. Air Force.
"We had to read our own X-rays, and I'd never done that before," he says, recalling the two years he spent stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. "Time passed a little slowly in the afternoons, so I got a book and began to learn more about those images I was trying to decipher each day."
Henderson had not always planned to become a physician. As a UVa undergraduate, he favored accounting courses. But when it came time to choose a profession, he decided to follow his father, a Norton, Va., ENT, into medicine.
He found the first semester of medical school challenging. "I had little scientific background, so I had to work hard," he recalls. "But I eventually felt like I was on equal footing with my classmates. I especially enjoyed my association with Jim Respess, John Guerrant, Jim Miller, and Carlos Ayers, among others. They were inspiring teachers and nice guys."
Given his satisfying University experiences, Henderson knew what to do once he discovered radiology: he applied for a residency at UVa. Shortly after leaving the service, he was back at his beloved alma mater for a third time. He stayed on for another year as an instructor.
After a year of academic medicine, Henderson was ready to set out on his own. He joined Rockingham Radiologists, Ltd., a Harrisonburg, Va., practice whose physicians serve nearby Rockingham Memorial Hospital. He remained there for the duration of his 30-year career, retiring as managing partner in 2001.
Henderson says radiology changed completely during his years in the field. "At the beginning, it wasn't difficult to keep up with the volume of images our hospital colleagues ordered. But as technology moved beyond plain films to ultrasound, CT, and MRI, the images contained a great deal more information, and they were more complicated to read and interpret," he says. "By the time I retired we had nine radiologists in our group."
In retirement, Henderson is learning about computers and digital photography as well as running four times a week. He also teaches radiological technology and raises orchids and other plants in a freestanding greenhouse. He and wife Mary are the parents of two sons who are both UVa graduates-Charles IV '88 and James '92-and the proud grandparents of four youngsters, age eight and under.
Dr. Henderson remains dedicated to the School of Medicine. A longtime class agent, he has provided for the school in his will. "My medical education prepared me to enjoy a successful career," he says. "I want others to have the same opportunity."