For over 50 years, Ashworth Drugs has been an institution in Cary. More wisdom has been dispensed over the store’s Formica lunch counter than all of the pimento cheese and chicken salad sandwiches combined, according to Paul Ashworth, son of founder Ralph Ashworth. More important, Ashworth’s still retains its old-fashioned approach to service.On Tuesday, May 8, the Campbell University School of Pharmacy honored 74-year-old Ralph Ashworth with the M. Keith Fearing Community Pharmacist Award.”My husband always said that there are three qualities that make a pharmacist successful—strong commitment, compassion and professional participation,” said Lib Fearing, widow of M. Keith Fearing, one of the founders of the Campbell School of Pharmacy. “If you can provide all three of these qualities you have served the profession well.”Born December 20, 1932 in Fuquay Springs, N.C., Ralph Ashworth received a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1955. He moved to Cary and bought the pharmacy in 1957.”My father’s mission was to always be useful to others,” said son Paul Ashworth, manager of the pharmacy. “When a customer called in the middle of the night because his or her child had an ear infection, dad’s answer was always, ‘Yes, whatever you need.'”Through his participation in the Cary Area Chamber of Commerce, Ashworth helped spearhead many town projects, including the YMCA, The Carying Place shelter and Veterans Freedom Park He was named Cary citizen of the year in 1976 and in 1992, shared honors with his wife Daphne as Cary co-business leader of the year. Ashworth received the 1992 Pharmacist of the Year award from the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association and was recently named “Tar Heel of the Week” by the Raleigh “News & Observer.””As we educate young pharmacists, it is imperative that we have good role models for them to emulate,” said Dr. Ronald Maddox, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “Keith Fearing and Ralph Ashworth are such role models and true assets to the profession of pharmacy.”The M. Keith Fearing Community Pharmacy Practice award is given in memory of M. Keith Fearing, a 1941 alumnus of Campbell who was instrumental in the establishment of the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. The Fearing award was established in 1997 to honor Fearing’s memory and his contributions to community pharmacy practice.Photo Copy: The Campbell University School of Pharmacy presents the M. Keith Fearing award to Cary pharmacist, Ralph Ashworth. From left, President Jerry M. Wallace, Mrs. Lib Fearing, wife of the late M. Keith Fearing, Ashworth and his wife Daphne, and Dr. Ronald Maddox, dean of the School of Pharmacy. (Photo by Bennett Scarborough)
Campbell Pharmacy School honors Cary druggist