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Harold “Hal” Gifford Jr. |
Harold Gifford Sr., was a pioneer in ophthalmology in Omaha. His son, Harold “Hal” Gifford Jr., followed in his footsteps.
Born in Omaha in 1906, the youngest son of Harold Sr. and Mary (Millard) Gifford, Gifford Jr. attended Cornell University from 1925 to 1927. But he received both his BS in medicine (in 1930) and his M.D. (in 1931) from the University of Nebraska.
After an internship at Passavant Memorial Hospital in Chicago and a residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, he returned to Omaha in 1934 to begin what the Omaha World-Herald would later call “a lifetime of good works, many of them associated with the environment.”
Upon his return, Gifford went into practice with William Stokes, M.D., and joined the faculty of the College of Medicine as instructor in ophthalmology, becoming a full professor in 1964 and professor emeritus in 1970.
He spent a great deal of time in the eye clinic and also held weekly pathology conferences for students and residents. He served as chairman of the ophthalmology department from 1964 to 1970 and was known as a pioneer in the use of local anesthesia in cataract surgery, as well as in the development of tear sac surgery.
Gifford met his future wife, Mary Elizabeth “Emmy” Jonas, at a party in 1936, and they were married a few months later. Mrs. Gifford would become the matriarch of children’s theater in Omaha — the Emmy Gifford Children’s Theater (predecessor of the Rose Theater) was named in her honor in 1977.
Gifford’s interests included skiing, gardening, motorcycling, collecting art, sailing, figure skating and nature. A longtime supporter of Fontenelle Forest, he also donated the land for the Gifford Farm. When his office was located on the 16th floor of the Medical Arts Building in downtown Omaha, he would run up the stairs to condition himself for skiing in the winter.
Hal Gifford Jr., died in 1996 at age 90. Upon his death, the Omaha World-Herald said of him: “One of the memorable things about Dr. Gifford . . . was his deep and personal understanding of the relationship between human beings and nature . . . Hal Gifford is remembered as a wonderful man; the epitome of kindness and generosity . . . His footsteps will no longer be heard in the forest he loved. His loss will be felt keenly by his many friends.”
Some years ago, I heard that Dr. Gifford often went riding on his motorcycle, wearing a helmet painted to look like a giant eye. Such an original personality!