Dr. Celeste Woodward Applefeld, whose career as a pediatrician at Mercy Medical Center spanned nearly two decades, died of heart disease Aug. 26 at her home in Charlottesville, Virginia. The former North Roland Park resident was 77.

“What an incredible woman,” said Dr. Susan J. Dulkerian, chair of Mercy Medical Center’s Department of Pediatrics.

“Her forte was her calm, kind empathy and demeanor toward her families and students. She was an extremely kind person,” Dr. Dulkerian said.

Celeste Woodward, daughter of Dr. Theodore E. Woodward, a noted University of Maryland medical educator and a Nobel Prize-nominated researcher in infectious diseases, and Dr. Celeste Woodard, a physician, was born in Baltimore and raised in Roland Park.

Dr. Woodward, who always used her maiden name professionally, was a 1964 graduate of Roland Park Country School.

She attended Wellesley College, the University of Pennsylvania Nursing School and the University of Maryland, College Park, but did not earn a bachelor’s degree.

“At Maryland, in her fourth year, they required her to take a course in public speaking, but she didn’t want to do that,” said her daughter, Grace Cleveland of Charlottesville.

Not having a bachelor’s degree did not deter Dr. Woodward from enrolling in medical school at the University of Maryland, from which she graduated in 1972.

While in medical school, she became the first female member of the Rush Medical Club, the oldest student medical club in the country.

She completed both an internship and residency in pediatrics at what was then D.C. Children’s Hospital, now Children’s National Hospital.

From 1974 to 1975, she completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at Maryland.

She was on the pediatric faculty at Maryland from 1975 to 1984 when she joined Mercy Medical Center as a pediatrician and was also an attending physician in the medical center’s outpatient clinic.

While at Mercy, she had a joint appointment at the University of Maryland Medical School, where, as a clinical professor of pediatrics, she continued to train and teach medical students.

“She was the consummate educator. She led by example, and while a woman of few words, they learned plenty from her and that her words meant a lot,” said Dr. Dulkerian.

“It wasn’t uncommon to see trainees or residents having confidential meetings in her office, and I know those confidential conversations meant a great deal to them,” she said.

Dr. Woodward, who was known as “Sis,” retired in 2004.

Roland Park Country School continued to be a thread throughout her lifetime, and in 1998, she became the second woman and first alumna to chair the RPCS board, while becoming the school’s longest-serving trustee.

“She was full of integrity, empathy and had a willingness to work hard. We knew her as a compassionate physician,” said former head of school Jean Waller Brune, RPCS Class of 1960, who headed the school from 1992 to 2016.

“She was a person who lived her ideals. She was an alum of the school and a parent. Her daughter was a graduate of the school,” Ms. Brune said. “Sis was an inspiring person to work with and learn from. She definitely helped me as head of school. She gave sound advice, wisdom and was always willing to listen.”

Prior to moving to Charlottesville some years ago, she and her husband of 52 years, Dr. Mark Applefeld, a retired physician, lived in Poplar Hill, where they graciously hosted RPCS Class of 1964 reunion dinners.

Dr. Woodward was an avid tennis player, reader and baker. She was also an accomplished needlepointer and enjoyed making Christmas ornaments for her grandchildren.

She was a former longtime communicant of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Mount Washington.

A celebration of life gathering for Dr. Woodward will be held on the RPCS campus, 5204 Roland Avenue, at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in the Sinex Theater.

In addition to her husband and daughter, Dr. Woodward is survived by her son, Lewis Applefeld of Rye, New York; and five grandchildren.