Donya A. Powers, 59, of Providence, died May 19. She spent her entire professional career serving the needs of patients in the greater Providence region through her family medicine practice. Born in Wilkinsburg, PA, Dr. Powers graduated from Dover-Sherborn High School in Dover, MA, and was accepted into Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education. After completing her family medicine residency at Brown, she began a solo practice offering full-spectrum family medicine, including hospital care and delivering babies. Her hospital appointments included terms as chair of family practice and medical staff president at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, MA. She also served as a parttime medical director for Hospice of CVNA in Attleboro.
Dr. Powers was a clinical associate professor of family medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School and the
recipient of numerous teaching awards. She served on the AAFP’s Commission on Science, helping to develop official clinical recommendations and guidelines, as well as planning national continuing medical education programs for family physicians. She presented original clinical research at the AAFP World Family Medicine meetings in many countries, and volunteered with the AAFP Foundation’s Physicians with Heart program in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia, delivering humanitarian aid and leading educational sessions for local family physicians.
A long-time resident of the East Side, Dr. Powers loved travel, photography, cooking, ballroom dancing, and reading mystery and science fiction stories. She was devoted to her two Boston terriers, Steed and Emma Peel. She is survived by her brother, Michael R. Powers, PhD P’15MD’19; her sister-inlaw; her two nephews, including Andrew Y. Powers ’15 MD’19; and many friends in the Brown University and greater Providence communities. Donations in her memory may be made to the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 440, Leawood, KS 66211-2672.
