William Ellis Gentry

William Ellis Gentry, M.D., passed away peacefully in Fairfax, Virginia, on March 12, 2026, at the age of 93. Born on August 19, 1932, in Washington County, Virginia, Bill grew up in Elizabethton, Tennessee. He graduated from Elizabethton High School in 1951 and East Tennessee State University in 1954 with a degree in Chemistry. He went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in 1957, followed by a surgical residency in Memphis, two years with the U.S. Public Health Service, and an orthopedic surgery residency at George Washington University in 1965.

Dr. Gentry practiced orthopedic surgery at The Washington Clinic in Friendship Heights from 1967 to 2002. He served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Georgetown University and cared for patients at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., and Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2002 he began more than 15 years of service at the Washington, D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he worked in the Amputee Clinic caring for veterans, including those injured in the Gulf War, while holding a teaching appointment at Howard University College of Medicine.

From childhood, Bill held a deep fascination with science and astronomy, serving as a young amateur sky watcher for the University of Chicago Astronomy Department in Elizabethton. He enjoyed bird watching and had a special affection for animals, particularly his Doberman pinscher, Shaytoon, and African grey parrot, Tootie. A man of quiet conviction and empathy, he demonstrated his support for civil rights during medical school in Memphis by sitting in the back of the bus with African American passengers at personal risk.

Bill met his wife, Shirin, while serving in the U.S. Public Health Service. They married on December 28, 1961, and raised their two sons, Philip and David, in Washington, D.C., Chevy Chase, and Bethesda, Maryland. In 2021 they moved to Fairfax, Virginia, to be near family. He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Philip and Jeanette, and David and Bridget; six grandchildren, Elizabeth, William, Isabelle, Sarah (Andrew Bittner), Bryce, and Owen; and great-grandson Wesley Bittner. He was preceded in death by his wife Shirin, parents John and Lela, sisters Betty Sue Eller and Kay Newton, and grandson Andrew.