George G. Ritchie (25 September 1923 – 29 October 2007) was an American psychiatrist who held positions as
president
President most commonly refers to:
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President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
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 private ]psychiatry
Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...
practice in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in 1983 moved to Anniston, Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
, 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.
Near-death experience
At the age of 20, George Ritchie apparently died in an army hospital and was pronounced dead twice by the doctor on duty. Nine minutes later he returned to life. Ritchie wrote of his near-death experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...
(NDE) in '' Return from Tomorrow'', co-written with Elizabeth Sherrill (1928-), and published in 1978. In the book he tells of his out-of-body experience
An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly us ...
, his meeting with Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, and his travel with Christ through different dimensions of time and space. ''Return from Tomorrow'' has been translated into nine languages. He also published another book, ''Ordered to Return'', soon after to elaborate on his heavenly experience.
Ritchie's story was the first contact Raymond Moody
Raymond A. Moody Jr. (born June 30, 1944) is an American philosopher, psychiatrist, physician and author, most widely known for his books about afterlife and near-death experiences (NDE), a term that he coined in 1975 in his best-selling book '' ...
had with NDEs, during his post-graduate studies and residency in Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...
at the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
. 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.
Death
Ritchie died on October 29, 2007 at his home in Irvington, Virginia
Irvington is a town on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster County, Virginia, United States. The population was 432 at the 2010 census. Located on a peninsula known as the Northern Neck, it has been designated a historic district.
History
From 1 ...
, aged 84, following a long battle with cancer.[
]
References
Bibliography
* George G. Ritchie and Elizabeth Sherrill, ''Return from Tomorrow''. Old Tappan, NJ: F.H. Revell, 1978. .
* George G. Ritchie, ''Ordered to Return: My Life After Dying''. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing, 1998. .
External links
Obituary
Anniston Star, October 31, 2007. Accessed 2007-12-18.
Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 31, 2007. Accessed 2007-12-18.
Book review of ''Return from Tomorrow''
by Joan Fulcher, April 19, 2002. Accessed 2007-12-18.
*
. Accessed 2009-06-02.
by Sharon Barrett Kennedy: the story of a healing miracle "foretold by the Lord" to George Ritchie. Accessed 2007-12-18.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, George G.
1923 births
2007 deaths
American psychiatrists
American spiritual writers
American Christian writers
Writers from Richmond, Virginia
Near-death experience researchers
People from Lancaster County, Virginia