Robert Lockard Willard, M.D.
Died April 3, 2017
LELAND - Robert (Bob) Lockard Willard, M.D., 96, of
Leland, passed away Monday, April 3, 2017, at home surrounded by his loving
family.
Bob was born on April 19, 1920, in Scottdale, Pennsylvania,
the son of Benjamin Harrison and Grace (Lockard) Willard. He attended Oberlin College
where he met his beloved, Virginia Hufford before graduating in 1942. While attending Western Reserve Medical
School, he was drafted into the Army Air Corps where he served as a flight
surgeon for five years. He married
Virginia on August 12, 1944. After completing
his residency in Ophthalmology at Northwestern School of Medicine, he went on
to establish his practice in Toledo, OH. He was as greatly
respected by his patients as he was by his colleagues. He and Virginia raised four daughters in Toledo before
retiring to Leland in 1989.
Bob loved life and embraced it to the fullest. He had passion
and energy for everything he pursued from medicine, golf, photography,
literature and horticulture to his favorite sports teams. But Bob reserved his greatest passion and
energy towards living an exemplary life devoted to caring for others, his
patients, community, church, family and friends.
Dr. Willard is survived by three children, Judy (Jim)
Moor of Ellicottville, NY; Nancy Willard of Olympia, WA; Sally (Alan) Veenstra
of Winnetka, IL; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
In addition to his beloved wife of 67 years, he was
preceded in death by his daughter, Susan (Francis) Gorman, of Toledo, OH; and his brother,
Jack Willard, of Scottdale, PA.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 8 at
11 a.m. at Leland Community United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Leelanau
Conservancy, 105 North First Street, P. O. Box 1007, Leland, MI 49654.
Please
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Dr. Willard was a wonderful gentleman and eye doctor. He performed "lazy eye" corrective surgery on me twice as a kid. Some years later, I caddied for me regularly at Inverness Club. Just a great guy! You are in my prayers and I will miss your dad! Jim Matthews Toledo, OH
ReplyDeleteBob Willard was the best and brightest ophthalmologist that Toledo and the surrounding area has ever seen and will ever see. He was the complete ophthalmologist managing all facets of eye care from strabismus to corneal transplants to cataract surgery. He was our first area doctor to take a modern approach to the repair of retinal detachments. More than all of these accomplishments, he was a gentleman physician in the truest sense of the both words. He was the man you wanted looking after your health.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing but total admiration for the man he was and what he accomplished during his career. It was my great honor to be associated with him in practice for 10 years. My own departed physician father referred to Bob as the "father of modern ophthalmology" in Toledo. You can rest in peace Bob Willard with your lovely wife and daughter. David Kozy
I visited the Leland area years ago, and phoned Dr. Willard to thank him for having been my ophthalmologist. I still think of him, always with gratitude for helping me to see as well as I do, and for educating me about my eyes and symptoms of problems to stay alert for. He was such a kind man and my heart goes out to family and friends who will miss him. There is a lot to miss. Take care. Kathleen
ReplyDeleteDr. Willard took great care of the Metz Family. He was the only doctor who was able to diagnose and treat my older brother Bob's dual vision. Bob was a young teenager who was having difficulty in school, sports etc in the late 50's. My parents always tried to give us what we needed. Bob knew something wasn't right, but "experts" dismissed it. He told Dr. Willard "I see double, but no one believes me." Dr. Willard believed him and worked to correct his vision. With deepest sympathy. Sharon Metz Hightower
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