John David Fletcher, 87, of Biltmore Lake passed away peacefully on January 24, 2018 at his home with his family by his side.

Born November 19, 1930 in Bristol, Va., he was a son of the late John Harrison and Mary Louise Byrd Fletcher. During the Korean War, he proudly served in the U.S. Army and worked in the Pentagon. He was an alumnus of Emory and Henry College in Emory, Va., where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, UNC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he received a MPH, and the University of Virginia where he received his MD. He also passed the American Board of Pediatrics exam becoming a Diplomate for the organization.

After his residencies at both University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH and UNC-Chapel Hill, he went on to open a private practice in Greenville, North Carolina. While in Greenville, he took a position with East Carolina University Medical School as clinical associate professor of pediatrics. In 1970, he was appointed regional pediatric consultant to the North Carolina Board of Health, and later became the public health director of Durham County where he remained until his retirement in 1996.

Serving the communities in which he lived was a priority of his and he was able to do so as a former member of both the Durham and Asheville branches of the Rotary Club, former member of the Triangle Bonsai Society in Durham, member of the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society in Asheville, Men’s Garden Club in Asheville, and as a docent of the North Carolina Arboretum.

Surviving are his devoted wife of 53 years, Barbara Caldwell Fletcher; three daughters; and six grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Homeless Ministries of the First Presbyterian Church, 40 Church St, Asheville, NC 28801; CarePartners Hospice, PO Box 25338, Asheville 28813; or the North Carolina Arboretum, Bonsai Exhibit, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC 28806.