IN MEMORIAM                                                       

In Memoriam

This past October, NITV Board member Dr. Hugh Ridlehuber passed away from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident. 

Dr. Ridlehuber was a forensic/child psychiatrist, a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and among many other things, a devoted CVSA examiner.  Dr. Ridlehuber was a close personal friend of NITV’s Founder, Dr. Charles Humble, for over twenty-five years.  Very good men like Hugh come along only once in a while and he will be greatly missed here at the NITV as well as by the VSA profession.  Our very deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Pam and also to his children.

Hugh Wilson Ridlehuber

March 31, 1934 – October 8, 2008

Hugh was born and raised in Greenwood in the Piedmont region of South Carolina.  He was the descendent of a revolutionary soldier and a millwright from Scotland on his mother’s side and 18th century immigrants from Bavaria on his father’s side.  He is named after Hugh Wilson, a newspaper editor and publisher.  After barely surviving typhoid fever at a young age, he decided to become a doctor. 

Upon graduation from Duke University in North Carolina, he returned to Charleston, South Carolina for Medical School.  He went back to Chapel Hill for a residency and fellowship at the University of North Carolina.  He helped develop the Child Psychiatric Clinic at William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute in Columbia, South Carolina.

In 1967, he headed west for a job interview in Berkeley where culture shock almost sent him home again, but he eventually settled in San Mateo.  He ran a number of child and adolescent programs over the years and taught at Sanford, the San Mateo County Psychiatric Residency Program, the California Bar Association and Hastings Law School.  He was honored as a Fellow and later as a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.  He received an Outstanding Citizen Award from the Belmont Police Dept. for professional help in the arrest of a serial killer.

Hugh was a Southern gentleman: always hospitable, kind, warm-hearted, and generous.  Hugh had a very curious nature – interested in everyone and everything.  He was always studying something, including history, Southern writers, and flute.  He traveled to Switzerland to study Carl Jung and to China to study Eastern Medicine.  He had inventive, creative talent and loved salvaging, repairing, restoring, improving and accessorizing.  He delighted in inventing tools to solve problems – sometimes with hilarious results. 

Hugh was increasingly dedicated to his work with patients with Attention Deficit Disorder and assisted many students with learning differences in getting accommodations needed to succeed.  He was very hardworking and did not retire until his 70’s.

Hugh is survived by his wife, Pam; children Hal Ridlehuber, Amy Kingsley, and David Ridlehuber; grandchildren Tawny and Russell.  He will be greatly missed.

Donations may be sent to:

Dr. Hugh Ridlehuber Memorial Scholarship

Notre Dame High School

1540 Ralston Avenue

Belmont, CA 94403