Webb S. Hersperger, M.D.

Webb S. Hersperger, M.D., 91, passed away in Mechanicsburg on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Webb’s heart always belonged to the small town where he grew up, Poolesville, MD, but throughout his life he formed strong attachments with every place he lived. He was the consummate small-town doctor, loved by his patients, and gave to the community with his entire servant heart.
Webb was born on October 16, 1930, to Virginia (Gartrell) Hersperger and Webb Sellman Hersperger in Frederick, MD and is survived by his wife of 65 years, Linda W. Hersperger, his daughters, Rebecca Ferguson (Ben Melvin), Ginny Boynton (Alan) and Katherine Hennessy (Michael) and his grandchildren, Jareth Ferguson, Josh Ferguson (Anna), Patrick Boynton, Andrew Boynton, Colin Hennessy, Emma Hennessy and Abby Hennessy.
Webb graduated from Poolesville High School in 1948, Johns Hopkins University in 1952 with a B.S. in Biology and the University of Maryland Medical School in 1956. As a physician in the U.S. Army, he was initially stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio and then did his residency at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA. The family then moved to Fort Gordon in Augusta, GA, Fort Leavenworth, KS and St. Louis, MO, where he was on the staff at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, before moving to Carlisle in 1967.
In Carlisle, Webb was a Deacon and Elder at the Second Presbyterian Church. He was a long-time member of the Executive Board of the Keystone Area Council of the Boy Scouts and led the efforts to save Hidden Valley Scout Reservation from closure in 1997 (It remains open 25 years later.) He was on the United Way board serving as the chair of the Professional Division and as a member of the Endowment Committee. He served on the board of Project SHARE and was a member of Tumbling Run Game Preserve. He was Vice President of Carlisle Crimestoppers, a board member of Opportunity Homes, a board member and volunteer with the American Trauma Society, and a member of the board of the Carlisle YMCA (serving as both President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees). He also served as a board member of Farmers Trust Bank. One of his proudest associations was with the Carlisle Rotary Club, where he was the President from 1974-75.
Professionally, he was a Fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and chair of the founding committee for Cumberland County 911. He was a licensure review physician for the Pennsylvania Board of Medical Education. He served on the Pennsylvania Department of Health Audiology Advisory Committee and, in particular, with the school hearing program, and was an advisor to the Cumberland-Perry Area Vocational Technical School’s medical assistance program.
Webb was honored to receive the Adult Services Award from the Carlisle YMCA, the Silver Beaver Award from the Keystone Area Council of the Boy Scouts, the Molly Pitcher Award from the Carlisle Exchange Club, and the Alexis de Tocqueville Award from the Carlisle United Way.
Webb and Linda traveled to all seven continents - memorably having to be retrieved by an icebreaker on their way to continent number seven, Antarctica, but they spent the majority of every summer at their cabin on a lake in Maine along with others from Carlisle who had cabins on the same lake.
Webb loved people. Whether it was going from table-to-table in a restaurant, spending all day on the phone with a friend during the pandemic, or helping others in need by finding medical care, housing or a job, people were his passion in life. He was known for his love for Johns Hopkins, Rotary, a handshake deal, his Boston Whaler, John Deere and all dogs, but especially Frasier. He was greatly indebted to the Montgomery County Police Department for its annual Fallen Officers’ Memorial ceremony, during which his father was recognized for his death in the line of service. His tie to his “brother by choice” Dr. Mathew Lee was eternal.
Our special thanks go to the staff on the fourth floor at UPMC West Shore, whose care for Webb was not only outstanding, but loving. Thank you, as well, to the staff at Bridges Senior Living and Residential Home Health and Hospice.
A celebration of Webb’s life will be held at 1 pm on Monday, June 6, 2022 at the Second Presbyterian Church, 528 Garland Drive, Carlisle, PA 17013.
There will be a live stream of the memorial service. Please view it on the Second Presbyterian Church website rather than attend in person if you haven’t been fully vaccinated, and please wear a mask for protection for the family.
Donations in Webb’s memory may be made to Project SHARE, 5 North Orange St., Carlisle, PA 17013; https://projectsharepa.org/ or New Birth of Freedom Council, BSA, 1 Baden Powell Lane, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050; https://newbirthoffreedom.org/. Hoffman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.