Remembering: Ted Holyoke, M.D.

Edward “Ted” Holyoke Jr., M.D.

For more than 80 years, the name of Holyoke has been legendary on the UNMC campus. On Oct. 25, one of the bearers of the Holyoke name, Edward “Ted” Holyoke Jr., M.D., died at the age of 72 after a nine-year battle with a form of gastrointestinal cancer.

“Ted was a perfect example of the type of physician that UNMC produces,” said Dan Mathers, M.D., a retired UNMC cardiologist who was part of a weekly Bible study group with Dr. Holyoke. “He loved Nebraska and stayed in Nebraska all his life taking care of Nebraskans.”

Dr. Holyoke’s father, Ed, served on the UNMC faculty for more than 60 years and was chairman of the anatomy department, a position that made him a revered figure among the scores of physicians and health professionals who received their anatomy training from him. He died in 2001 at the age of 93.

“Ted was devoted to his family and UNMC,” Dr. Mathers said. “He kept the legacy of the Holyoke name going at UNMC.”

A 1970 graduate of the UNMC College of Medicine, Ted Holyoke was a volunteer faculty member for UNMC, serving as a preceptor for UNMC students when he ran his family medical practice in Ogallala, Neb. (1971-1988) and then in Omaha (1988-2003) in the Benson area. He worked not only with medical students, but also with nurse practitioner and physician assistants from UNMC.

“Ted was a dedicated clinician who took care of the whole patient,” said Tom Porter, M.D., another UNMC cardiologist in Dr. Holyoke’s Bible study group. “He always reminded me that the reason given for you to see a patient may say one thing, but there are often other reasons they are seeing you.

“That epitomized him. He always made sure he gave time to address those ‘other reasons.’ In essence, he taught me how much patients confide in us, and how much we must respect this and be aware of this.”

Dr. Holyoke’s wife of 48 years, Sharon, also had strong ties to UNMC serving as a faculty member in the College of Nursing from 1988-2012 as a family and gerontology nurse practitioner. Like her husband, she had strong ties to rural Nebraska, teaching a small group course in rural community nursing for UNMC for six years in Ogallala.