Carmela Foderaro deRivas, 95, a doctor 'truly ahead of her time'

Carmela Foderaro deRivas, 95, formerly of Valley Forge, an Italian immigrant who became one of the Philadelphia area's few female doctors in the 1940s, died Thursday, Oct. 6, of dementia at Dunwoody Village, Newtown Square.

Dr. deRivas, who at 4-foot-9 was tiny but not timid, was both a psychiatrist and a health-care administrator, and she combined the two areas of expertise in 1964 when she was appointed the Norristown State Hospital's first female superintendent. She held the job until 1970.

In the first half of the 20th century, few women became physicians, let alone administrators of medical facilities. She was "a woman truly ahead of her time," her family said.

Born in Cortale, Italy, she came to Philadelphia in 1935. She spoke no English but quickly learned the new language and vaulted to the top of her class at South Philadelphia High School.

She was given a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a bachelor's degree, followed by a medical degree in 1946 at the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Dr. deRivas served a medical internship at Chestnut Hill Hospital. Because she had decided to specialize in psychiatric medicine, she was a perfect fit in 1949 for a residency at Norristown State Hospital. Over the years, she worked her way up to superintendent.

During her tenure, her family said, she treated 4,000 patients, managed 1,500 employees, and oversaw the hospital's 225-acre campus.

In 1970, she became a psychiatrist for the Penn Foundation Mental Health facility in Sellersville, Bucks County. In 1972, she signed on as director of intake services at Central Montgomery Mental Health/ Mental Retardation Center in Norristown, and was the center's medical director from 1977 until her retirement in 1982.

She was inducted into her high school Hall of Fame and was cited for excellence by the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, both in 1968.

In 1979, she was named Woman of the Year by the Pennsylvania Federation of Business and Professional Women.

She married urologist Aureliano Rivas, one of the first Puerto Rican-born brigadier generals in the U.S. Army Reserve.

The couple reared four children in the superintendent's house on the edge of the state hospital campus on Sterigere Street. Later, the family moved to a farmhouse on Germantown Pike, also on campus. "They had acres of ground to roam in, and a barn with a hayloft," nephew John Foderaro said.

The couple enjoyed world travel and classical music. In 2001, the two moved to Dunwoody Village, where he died three years later.

Her family remembered Dr. deRivas as intelligent, generous, and a hard worker. She was a gifted flower gardener who loved to eat eggplant parmesan and figs.

"Her husband meant the world to her, and today we celebrate the fact that they are together again," Foderaro said.

She is survived by daughters Carmen Rivas, Norma Rivas, and Sandra Rivas-Hall; a son, Dr. David Rivas; and three grandchildren.

A viewing starting at 10 a.m. will be followed by an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass on Friday, Oct. 14, at St. Anastasia Church, 3301 W. Chester Pike, Newtown Square. Burial is private.

Donations may be made to Providence Animal Shelter, 555 Sandy Bank Rd., Media, Pa. 19063.

bcook@phillynews.com

610-313-8102