"Good-bye
Dear Friend"
A tribute to a true 'Chiropractic Warrior'
by John Cafferty, D.C.
On March 9, 2000, our profession lost one of its principled chiropractors.
Leonard W. Rutherford, D.C., FICA, HCD, passed from this physical realm, his Innate
returned to Universal Intelligence from which it came.
Dr. Rutherford was born in Alberta, Canada in 1913. When he was ten, his family
moved to Salem, Oregon where he helped out on the family farm. While attending high
school, an incident happened that would change his life forever.
He had an accident while playing in a neighbor's barn and severely wrenched his
head and neck. Over time, his condition worsened and he got real sick. He lost a lot of
weight and started to have heart problems which caused him to drop out of high school. His
condition got so bad, that he thought he was going to die.
Medical doctors checked him for all kinds of conditions but they couldn't do
anything for him. Finally, he went to a chiropractor, Dr. Scott, in Salem. Dr. Scott
adjusted his neck and quite rapidly, he became well. Eventually, he returned to school.
Because of this experience, he decided he wanted to become a doctor.
After graduating from Silverton High School, he went to Willamette University to
study pre-med for a term. Suffering the worst cold of his life, he went to see Dr. Scott.
Again, Dr. Scott adjusted him and again his health returned. He wondered why he was
studying for a career in medicine, if chiropractic could help just as many people.
He asked Dr. Scott for a book on chiropractic, and he was given a short one by
Dr. B. J. Palmer. After reading the book, he knew exactly what he wanted to do, and
prepared himself to go to Palmer College of Chiropractic.
After graduating from Palmer, he married a fellow classmate, Dr. Agnes Logic, in
June of 1939. They returned to Oregon and settled in Eugene to start a practice. They
didn't have much money when they began their practice, and few patients. Paying their
bills was very hard and so was getting food.
Soon after their practice started to grow, World War II began and Dr. Rutherford
got his draft card. Shortly after that, some people brought a six-year-old blind girl
named Elizabeth from Salem to see if he could do anything about her sight. They had taken
their child to many medical doctors, but none could help.
Dr. Rutherford examined her and took X-rays of her neck where he found an
interference with the child's nervous system at the base of her skull. He began a series
of adjustments and miraculously, the child regained her sight.
I met that little girl named Elizabeth at Dr. Rutherford's memorial service
(only now she's approximately my age). She verified the incident that took place those
many years ago and yes, she was legally blind and yes, she now has 20-20 vision!
As a result of that incident, many people heard about this little girl and the
results she attained under chiropractic care. Among those hearing the news was U.S.
Senator Charles McNary. The Senator called Dr. Leonard to come to his house to talk.
They spoke for a long time, and finally Senator McNary, who knew Leonard had
received his draft notice, asked Dr. Rutherford what he would do if drafted into the
service. "Since Chiropractic, as a science, was not recognized in 1942," Dr.
Leonard replied, "I'll probably end up as an X-ray technician."
The senator said, "Your work is too valuable to lose, and I'm going to do
everything I can to keep you in practice." Senator McNary did do everything he could,
and a presidential deferment from President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sent to Dr. Leonard
Rutherford within two weeks.
It was the first deferment for a chiropractor to be considered as an essential
professional during the war. Because of this deferment, he was able to afford gasoline and
tires which allowed him to care for patients in both Salem and Eugene.
During those war years, he rented two motel rooms in Salem to see patients. He
did this because many people could not afford the gasoline to drive to Eugene.
Dr. Rutherford was a good friend of Dr. B. J. Palmer and while at Palmer
College, worked at the B.J. Palmer Research Clinic assisting Dr. Palmer in researching the
efficacy of chiropractic science.
He was a lifelong member of the International Chiropractors Association (ICA)
and was the recipient of the ICA's "Distinguished Fellow" award in 1960, and
their "Chiropractor of the Year" award in 1963.
In 1964 Dr. Leonard Rutherford was elected president of the ICA and served in
that position until 1971, longer than any other president except Dr. B. J. Palmer.
During the years following his ICA presidency, he was deeply involved in the
politics of our profession at the national level, testifying many times before
congressional committees on the efficacy of chiropractic science within the healthcare
industry.
He also authored a wonderful book on chiropractic titled, "The Role of
Chiropractic," which is an excellent research source for information on having a
legally defensible definition of the science and practice of chiropractic.
Throughout his lifetime, Dr. Rutherford never strayed from the tenets of
chiropractic. I once asked Leonard what message B. J. gave to him the last time they
talked. He told me that B.J. instructed him, "to never compromise the
principles."
Through his long and illustrious career, Leonard Rutherford, D.C. never did! His
life's work is a shining example of the fantastic miracles that can occur to patients
under the care of a principled chiropractor.
Dr. Rutherford was a proud honorary member of Oregon Doctors Of Chiropractic
(ODOC). He was very pleased that ODOC had become an ICA state affiliate association, and
that we were willing to carry on the fight for principled chiropractic in Oregon.
Dr. Rutherford is survived by his wife, Agnes Rutherford, D.C., four children
and several grandchildren, one of which, Leonard G. Rutherford, D.C., is a practicing
chiropractor in Salem.
While standing at his grave site in Eugene on March 15, 2000, I thought about
the many different concepts that people have concerning the existence of an afterlife.
Since I truly believe that there will be justice on the other side of this physical
existence, then perhaps the following might just be what happened to Leonard's spirit on
that day:
A host of heavenly angels came for him on that day to escort him to the Gates of
Paradise. Waiting there to direct him to the Creator was not Peter, but Palmer. It was
then and there that he heard those words spoken; "Well done, good and faithful
brother!"
Good-bye my friend and mentor, I will truly miss you..
Return to index
