Longtime Norman physician dies

By Andrew Knittle

June 17, 2008 12:31 am

— Services for longtime Norman physician Dr. William Crittendon will be 11 a.m. today at the All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, his daughter, Claudia Crittendon Arthrell, said Monday.
Dr. Crittendon, who delivered about 7,000 babies during his career as an OB-GYN, received his medical training at the University of Oklahoma during the 1950s.
"He was a diehard Sooner," Crittendon Arthrell said. "In fact, he delivered all three of Barry Switzer's children while he was practicing in Norman."
A three-time enlistee of the Army, Dr. Crittendon served in World War II as a soldier before returning to service to do his residency after graduating from medical school, Crittendon Arthrell said.
Dr. Crittendon also returned for a third stint in the military, teaching soldiers classes for the University of Maryland's European division, Crittendon Arthrell said.
Norman physician Dr. Gerald McCullough, who went to medical school with Dr. Crittendon and later talked him into returning to the Norman area, said the late doctor was the first of his kind in the area.
"When he came, there was probably about 20 doctors [in Norman], most of them doing family practice," Dr. McCullough said.
"But he was really the first person who was fully trained as an OB-GYN around here."
Dr. McCullough said his former colleague was "hard-working" and "an excellent OB-GYN," one who never minded the unpredictability of being on call every day of the week.
Dr. Crittendon, who often boasted of "taking care of women all his life," died June 12 in the Tulsa area at age 83.
His obituary appears on Page A5.
Andrew Knittle 366-3527 aknittle@normantranscript.com