Gladys Louise McGarey (née Taylor, November 30, 1920 – September 28, 2024) was an American holistic physician and medical activist. Over her career, McGarey promoted better childbirth practices, holistic medicine, and acupuncture through her medical practice, speeches, and books. She co-founded the American Holistic Medical Association in 1978 and served as its president. She also co-founded the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine, and she served as president of the Arizona Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiners. McGarey was awarded medical and lifetime achievement awards over the course of her life, including being honored as a Pioneer of Holistic Medicine by the American Holistic Medical Association and being inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.
Early life Born in Fatehgarh, India on November 30, 1920, Gladys Louise Taylor was the fourth child of Dr. John Taylor and Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Taylor, two Reformed Presbyterian Church missionaries who traveled to remote areas of India to deliver medical care. Her mother was one of the "world’s first female doctors, earning her degree in osteopathic medicine". Her father was also an ordained minister in addition to being an osteopathic physician himself. Her parents left Cincinnati, Ohio for India in 1914 and settled in a Reformed Presbyterian mission north of New Delhi in the village of Roorkee. They each had their own treatment tents. The Taylor family frequently moved to and from villages in the jungle. They offered free medical care to all people, regardless of caste, and many of their patients were children of parents with Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy. Gladys saw her parents treat "every imaginable affliction." They founded a home for the children with Hansen's disease. During the conflict-ridden period after the Partition of India, the Taylors treated the injured, prevented the spread of disease through immunizations, and buried the dead. Their work was recognized by Mahatma Gandhi. John and Beth were missionaries in India until 1967. Towards the end of his life, John published India—Dr. John Taylor Remembers. Beth died in 1970 and John followed in 1973. Taylor had a sister, Margaret, and three brothers, John, Carl, and Gordon. She studied at the Woodstock School in India.
Medical school and internship In 1935, Taylor came to the United States, where she studied and graduated from Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio, and then received her medical degree from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Taylor interned at the Deaconess Hospital in Cincinnati, in 1946. She was the lone woman among male interns, and managed the experience by remembering her father's advice to "never give up".
Personal life Gladys Taylor met and four years later on December 20, 1943, married William McGarey at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, becoming Gladys McGarey. Both passed their Ohio Medical Board examinations in June 1947 and intended to be missionaries. In 1947, William, a graduate of the College of the Ozarks, was a medical resident at the Cincinnati General Hospital. They had six children, Carl, John, Bob, Analea, Helene, and David. Analea wrote the book Born to Heal about her mother. They divorced when McGarey was 70, after 46 years of marriage. William McGarey died on November 3, 2008. His medical career was much like his wife's; he practiced holistic medicine and acupuncture, was co-founder of holistic and other medical organizations, incorporated Cayce's medical theories into his practice, and was an author. His residence was in Scottsdale, Arizona at the time of his death. McGarey died on September 28, 2024, at the age of 103.
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