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Hobart “Hobe” Wiltse, M.D., Ph.D. |
Dr. Wiltse, 75, retired in 2002 after 37 years on the faculty. He was well known for his caring demeanor and for giving his time to students and patients, said Bruce Buehler, M.D., professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of Pediatrics and director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute.
“Hobe was a teacher’s teacher,” Dr. Buehler said. “He was a Renaissance man. He loved photography and music and even built his own organ. He had so many interests that were reflected back in his teaching.”
Three months ago, Dr. Wiltse donated 19 of his favorite photographs to the department of pediatrics. The photographs, which feature 18 photos of animals and one plant shot, are hanging in the main hallway of the pediatrics department on the fifth floor of University Tower.
Dr. Buehler said the UNMC Pediatrics Department recently created the first annual Hobart Wiltse Teaching Award. It will be given to outstanding teachers in pediatrics and is voted upon by students, residents and faculty.
Two UNMC pediatricians, Sharon Stoolman, M.D., and Carl Gumbiner, M.D., received the award this year. Dr. Wiltse helped select the criteria for the award, which will continue into “perpetuity,” Dr. Buehler said.
During his career, Dr. Wiltse focused on caring for children with inherited metabolic disorders. For 25 years (1969-1994) he oversaw the eight-week clerkship program for the third-year medical students and the electives program for fourth-year medical students.
He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1953 and earned his medical degree (1958) and Ph.D. in biochemistry (1965) from UNMC. Dr. Wiltse was instrumental in pushing through mandatory newborn testing in Nebraska to detect metabolic disorders.
In 2000, the Hobart Wiltse Center for the Study of Metabolic Disorders at Children’s Hospital was funded by grateful parents, Dan and Lisa Koch, for Dr. Wiltse’s care of their son, Michael. This center has become an international facility providing clinical care, professional education and research in pediatric metabolic disorders.
A world traveler, Dr. Wiltse’s wildlife photo collection included photos taken in Antarctica, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands, California, Colorado and even his own back yard. His travels were enhanced by his ability to speak three foreign languages — German, Russian and Italian. His love of nature was evident from the 175 rose bushes he had at his Omaha home.
With the exception of four years (1964 to 1968) when he was doing his pediatric fellowship training at Johns Hopkins University and the UCLA School of Medicine, Dr. Wiltse spent his entire career at UNMC.
A Falls City, Neb. native, Dr. Wiltse served as acting chairman of the department of pediatrics from 1975 to 1976, was assistant dean for curriculum for the UNMC College of Medicine (1976-79), and was interim director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute (1982-83).
He is survived by his wife, Margaret; two sons and their wives, John Wiltse and Melinda Knox, Lake Oswego, Ore., and Todd Wiltse and Linda Rosul, Chicago; a sister, Roberta Wiltse, Los Angeles; a sister-in-law, Joyce Wiltse, Falls City; nieces and nephews.