Mrs. Geraldine Waggener Getty

Mrs. Geraldine Waggener Getty, age 91, a long time resident of Little Rock, Arkansas, and a consulting dietitian, died Wednesday, September 5, 2012, in Nashville, Tennessee. She was the widow of Hugh Cecil Getty. Her parents were the late Richard Garnett Waggener and Alma Thompson Waggener of Charleston, Missouri. Mrs. Getty was a graduate of the University of Missouri and did her dietetic internship at New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center. She was the first dietary consultant with the State Health Department and edited the first edition of the Arkansas Diet Manual for use by Arkansas hospitals, physicians and dietitians. Mrs. Getty was also instrumental in organizing statewide institutes for hospital and nursing home food service supervisors in Arkansas and in helping to organize their statewide organization, for which she served as an advisor. In 1965, she helped organize the first Head Start program in College Station. In her role as clinical dietitian at the Veterans Administration Hospital on Roosevelt Road, Mrs. Getty edited the hospital's first diet manual and received the first Superior Accomplishment Award given at that hospital. As a pioneer in the field of consulting dietetics, Mrs. Getty spoke at institutes in various states. She was consultant dietitian at Arkansas Children's Hospital for many years, as well as Presbyterian Village, Centers for Youth and Families and several other healthcare facilities. She was active in both the Arkansas Dietetic Association and the American Dietetic Association, including serving as president of the state association and chairwoman of the Joint Committee of the American Dietetic Association - American Hospital Association. Her articles were published in journals of these organizations as well as in other professional journals and in Little Rock newspapers. As cafeteria chairwoman of the Little Rock PTA Council, Mrs. Getty worked successfully with school board members to have a dietitian in charge of the Little Rock Public School Food Service. She was also a member of the Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools in 1959. Mrs. Getty was an elder at Second Presbyterian Church, chairwoman of their Peace Council and active in their Environmental Council. Survivors include two sons, Richard H. Getty, and his wife, Julie, of Boulder, Colorado, and Don B. Getty, and his wife, Lisa, of Nashville, Tennessee, Jan G. Burks, and her husband, Wesley, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, two brothers, Marion Waggener, and his wife, Paula, of Charleston, Missouri, and Maj. Gen. Jack Waggener, and his wife, Mary Ella, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and six grandchildren. Her body will be cremated. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m.on Saturday, September 8, 2012, at Second Presbyterian Church by the Rev. Karen Akin. Memorials may be made to Second Presbyterian Church, Heifer International, or Presbyterian Village in lieu of flowers. www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.