James Edney, M.D., chief of surgical oncology at UNMC, first met Paul Hodgson, M.D., when Dr. Edney was a third-year medical student.
“Dr. Hodgson was the epitome of the consummate surgical educator,” Dr. Edney said. “He was a true gentleman who lived his life to the highest principles, a meticulous surgeon who always put the interests of the patient in the forefront, and an outstanding mentor and role model for the surgical trainee.”
Dr. Hodgson, the former chairman of the UNMC Department of Surgery, died Wednesday. He was 91.
See sidebar and “Comments” for more memories of Dr. Hodgson
After earning his medical degree in 1945 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Dr. Hodgson served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1946-1948. He returned to the University of Michigan and joined the faculty in the department of surgery before coming to UNMC in 1962 as professor of surgery.
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During his tenure, he served as assistant dean for academic affairs from 1969 to 1972 and chairman of the department of surgery from 1972 to 1984. He held an appointment as Shackleford Professor of Surgery and was named an honorary alumnus of the College of Medicine in 1985. He retired in 1988, becoming an emeritus professor of surgery.
“He truly cared about the university, the College of Medicine, the department of surgery, and he was especially fond of the residents,” said David W. Mercer, M.D., current chairman of the department of surgery.
In 2006, Dr. Hodgson was named one of The Nebraska Medical Center’s “Legends,” an honor awarded to retired physicians who have demonstrated remarkable leadership, professionalism and friendship.
“He was clearly a superstar in surgical education and supported the department in that arena in so many ways, including the Paul Hodgson Lectureship that brought so many other superstars in surgery to the UNMC campus,” Dr. Mercer said.
Jon Thompson, M.D., was recruited to UNMC 30 years ago by Dr. Hodgson. He now holds Dr. Hodgson’s old post as the Shackleford Professor of Surgery.
“I was attracted more by the trust and confidence he inspired than the certainty of the opportunity,” Dr. Thompson said. “He was warm and engaging, had strong values, and was genuinely interested in others.
“Dr. Hodgson was a superb surgeon who could perform almost any operation. His surgical skill, patience, attention to detail and caring manner endeared him to his patients. He influenced legions of medical students, surgical trainees, and fellow surgeons,” Dr. Thompson said.
“UNMC has lost a strong supporter, the department of surgery has lost an important part of its history, and we have all lost a valued mentor and friend.”
The terms “a gentleman and a scholar” accurately describe Dr. Hodgson. He was extremely easy to talk to and work with, and was very down-to-Earth. Each time I spoke to him I learned something new about medical history. I first met him just a few weeks after I started at UNMC in 2002 at a Friends of the Library meeting. He was not only a friend of the library, but a friend to the library faculty and staff. A few months after I met him he came in and asked if we would possibly want his papers and files, which he had taken home when he retired, for the archives. He said he didn’t think they were so important or significant, but Oz (his lovely wife) wanted him to get the boxes out of the basement!
Paul was the consummate gentleman who had a beautiful way of expressing himself, sometimes lapsing into spontaneously composed poetry or song. His kindness knew no bounds; he had a genuine respect for all living creatures. He became a dear and supportive friend during our 12 delightful years at UNMC.
“It was my privilege to take care of Dr. Hodgson. There was not a more gracious gentleman than Paul. He embodied what an academic physician should be. He was truly dedicated to his career and incredibly patient when it came to house staff. He was a true hero to many of us.”
I knew Dr. Hodgson not only as the consummate gentleman surgeon, but also as an inveterate bee keeper. Now and then, the bees got the better of him and he'd appear at grand rounds or a dinner party with his eyes swollen near shut and his nose like a pomegranate. He never begrudged the bees, granting them their protective instincts, admiring their predictability in a time of so much change. Paul was also generous with people; too optimistic to imagine our dark sides, he sought to encourage and cultivate those in his care. I'll miss him terribly, as perhaps will his bees.
“It will be difficult for others to overpraise Dr. Hodgson. My clearest memory of Dr. Hodgson is not a meeting, but a sighting. It was about 1980, and I was working in Bethesda, Md. Several of us had piled into a car to drive to a medical meeting in downtown Washington. As we crossed the Taft Bridge over Rock Creek Park, I saw Dr. Hodgson striding cheerfully and purposefully along the pedestrian walkway. He was smiling with his head up and he was swinging his case. Dr. Hodgson was on his way to teach and to learn. It seems to me that Dr. Hodgson led a nearly perfect life.”
As a fledgling physician new to UNMC and Nebraska, Paul Hodgson was my first attending physician during the initial two months of my internship in 1978. As a non-surgery resident assigned to work on the general surgery service, he made me feel accepted and respected as an integral part of the group. His example has helped me over the years in working with young physicians new to the profession. For this I'm greatful.
It has been said the full measure of an individual is not found in the awards and placques they accumulate. Rather it lies in the number of lives affected and influenced for the better. From reading the tributes above, it's obvious Paul Hodgson's life was a smashing success. Douglas Wheatley, M.D. Family Medicine
From a nursing perspective I want to echo the acolades for Dr Hodgson. I saw him as believing in and supporting nursing through all the phases of my education and career – student nurse, advanced practice nurse and when I went back for my PhD. He was always willing to seek and respond to nursing input. His patients loved him and he appeared to love what he did. June Eilers PhD, APRN-CNS,Bc
One of my favorite memories of Paul Hodgson was whenever we would see each other on campus, we just had to do a little "dance spin" – he had some smooth moves! He will be greatly missed.
It was my privilege to be Dr. Hodgson's secretary in his early years as Chair of the Department of Surgery. My memories go back to how crushed he was to hear of the death of one of his patients from out-state Nebraska who had sufferered with melanoma , and how compassionate he was when getting permission from a family for donation of their loved one's organs. I remember his positive attitude, singing in the office, his pride of his alma mater in Ann Arbor, and that he and Mrs. Hodgson used to enjoy dinner at the Hilltop House. He was truly a gentleman and caring surgeon.
Jan Stewart, Office Associate for Kenneth Follett, MD, PhD, UNMC Division of Neurosurgery
I was a surgical resident at the UMC from 1959 until 1962. It was my privilige and honor to work with Dr. Hodgson in his first few years at the Medical Center. Fortunately for me, he has a lot of spare time when he first arrived, so I monoplized him as much as possible. This, however, didn't last long.
I was at the Medical Center when Dr. Musselman came to the Surgery Department, in my 2nd year of Medical school. So I was around for the changing of the guard, so to speak, for these two superb Surgeons.
I remember Bill Karrer MD, my mentor and one year ahead of me in the residency, telling me that I should get to know him and to pick his brain of everything possible.
I did that. I found that he could do any operation. His decision making was superb. One time he and I did a very difficult head and neck operation. I was amazed at the ease with which he did the proceedure. I asked him how many of these he had done in his life. He answered that his was his first where he was the first surgeon. I was amazed. He continued to amaze me.
He was a very calming infulence for me in my decision making during my residency.
Unfortunately I lost contact with him when I moved to South Dakota and began my surgical practice in Winner and Pierre SD. However his influence on my life coninued through out my career.
I am very saddened to hear of his death, but do cherish the short time I knew him.
Marion R. Cosand MD
Dr. Hodgson was one of the first surgeons that I met when I came to UNMC. I was a scared and timid young woman right of college. As a employee of the Medical Records Department at the time, I so appreciated his regard for the work we were trying to do. He was friendly and helpful regardless of the position you held at UNMC.
Absolutely every thoughtful and positive adjective applied to Paul Hodgson in these comments mirrors my own experience with him, too. The first time I ever saw him, my husband and I were moving into our first house in 1971. I was unpacking boxes in the kitchen and out the window I saw this man walking around in our backyard studying the back of the house like a painter figuring an estimate. I went out to say hello and find out what this fellow was up to. He said, "A killer wasp just flew into the side of your house and dropped what he was carrying. I want to know what it was." That was my introduction to our good friend and neighborhood naturalist, Paul Hodgson. He and his wife Oz were wonderful to us and our children. Their grandparents lived too far away to attend school on Grandparent's Day, or a history class to tell about daily life during the Depression, or WWII, so Paul would come, always prepared with a prop and a good story. He was a wonderful friend.
Dr. Hodgson was a skilled surgeon, dedicated teacher, a passionate humanitarian, a dedicated family man, and friend. His ethos, passion, enthusiasm and humor remain cornerstones of his legacy. My life was enriched by our friendship and the lessons he taught me. Melonie Welsh