Former Malad doctor and mayor to be inducted into 2014 Hall of Fame
To be inducted to the Oneida County Hall of Fame for 2014 is Dr. O.H. Mabey, who will be honored for his public service to his community, especially as a medical doctor.
Dr. Orsen Henry Mabey, also known as Dr. Mabey or Dr. O.H., was born on August 9, 1890, in Bountiful, Utah, to Joseph Thomas and Sarah Lucretia Tolman Mabey. He graduated from high school in Bountiful and attended the University of Utah, graduating in 1916. He married Esther Marie Ford in 1917 in the Salt Lake Temple, and they moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where O.H. graduated from Jefferson Medical School. He served internships in Hartford, Connecticut, and in Salt Lake City. He was a veteran of World War I.
After practicing medicine in Garland and Lehi, Utah, Dr. O.H. moved to Malad in 1924. Here he became the well-loved family doctor who made house calls all over Malad Valley and was often paid in chickens, bum lambs, or homemade candy. He was known to follow the snowplow on a country road and then hike to the snowbound house to save a life or deliver a baby. He never refused services even when the family could not pay.
When Dr. O.H. arrived in Malad, the hospital was located up a steep flight of steps in the Townhouse, a former hotel. Dr. O.H. was a member of the committee that worked to build a new hospital for Malad, which was completed in October 1938 and is where the medical clinic is now located.
Dr. O.H. served not only the citizens of Malad but was the physician for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Washakie for 35 years. Every week he traveled to Washakie to see patients there.
Dr. O.H. was the Oneida County Health official and brought the polio vaccine to Malad, which may have saved Malad from a large number of outbreaks of this dreaded disease. He also served as President of the Oneida County chapter of the American Red Cross for over 25 years. During World War II, the Red Cross, under Dr. O.H.’s leadership, raised funds for packages to send to the boys overseas. Dr. O.H. was involved in the Malad Lions Club, serving as president and in several other offices. He was also a member of the Malad Chamber of Commerce and its Beautification Committee.
Before 1941, Malad was known as a village and did not have a city form of government. Dr. O.H. served as the chairman of the Malad Village Board from 1941 to 1943. In 1943, several civic organizations met and decided it was time to form a Malad City government. In May 1943, Dr. O.H. was elected as the first mayor of Malad City, and he served until 1945. During his time as mayor, he worked to build recreational facilities, to extend the sewer and water lines, and to improve the city cemetery by bringing water to it.
In 1932, Dr. O.H. was called to be the bishop of the Second Ward of the Malad Stake. He also served on the Malad Stake High Council and in several other church callings.
He enjoyed gardening, and his vegetables were a staple on the menu at the Malad Hospital. His flowers decorated the Benson Funeral Home for many viewings.
Dr. O.H. Mabey suffered a stroke in 1969 that resulted in his eventually moving into the nursing home before he died on March 1, 1977, at the age of 87. He was buried in the Bountiful (Utah) Cemetery. He and Marie had four children: Dr. Joseph Ford Mabey, Dr. Orson Henry Mabey, Jr., Dr. Rex Garn Mabey, and daughter Jean Mabey, who was a nurse. His descendants include many grandchildren and great-grandchildren who serve in the medical field.
Anyone who has stories about Dr. O.H. Mabey is invited to give those stories to Dotty Evanson (208-851-1750 or dotty.evanson@me.com). The public is invited to the Hall of Fame banquet on Tuesday, May 20, where Dr. Mabey and Dr. Jeane Jones will be honored as 2014 inductees. Please call Dotty Evanson for reservations.