Three hundred people representing several generations of surgeons in Hawaiʻi paid tribute last week to a transformative medical practitioner and leader who dedicated 16 years to the University of Hawaiʻi as surgery chair for the John A. Burns School of Medicine—Dr. Thomas J. Whelan, Jr.
The fundraising celebration coincides with the commitment of a sizable anonymous monetary gift to establish the Dr. Thomas J. Whelan, Jr., MD Endowed Chair of Surgery.
The Dr. Thomas Whelan Gala provided palpable evidence that much of the late Dr. Whelan lives on in the skill, the dedication and even the keen senses of humor to be found among the top-notch Hawaiʻi surgeons who learned their profession at Whelan’s side.
More about Dr. Thomas Whelan
Dr. Thomas J. Whelan, Jr. came to Hawaiʻi’s Tripler Army Medical Center in 1965 to assume the post of chief of surgery. He already had an international reputation as a vascular trauma surgeon. His skills had been honed in the early mobile army surgical hospitals (MASH) of the Korean War.
“Although he had been most instrumental in the founding and playing a leadership role in the formation of MASH units in the Korean War, he gave all the credit to others and none to himself,” said F. Don Parsa, chief of plastic surgery for the UH Department of Surgery.
Dr. Whelan’s patients during his illustrious career in Army medicine included General Douglas McArthur and former President Dwight Eisenhower. The military and its most well-regarded leaders trusted Whelan’s skill.
Dr. Whelan, who attained the high rank of brigadier general, had a philosophy of surgery that was at once simple and profound.
“The privilege of being able to take care of other human beings as a physician is a very beautiful relationship,” Dr. Whelan said in a tape recorded interview before his death in 1999.
Dr. Whelan’s legacy continues
Dr. Whelan’s surgery department was a challenging place to learn. He demanded precision and was relentless in his teaching–always imparting knowledge no matter how small. But he also invited young surgery trainees to weekend volleyball parties on the beach in Windward Oʻahu, and was intensely loyal to them, as they were to him.
“In a way, he adopted me,” said one of those trainees, distinguished military and civilian surgeon Peter Barcia. “I said this at the (Whelan) memorial service. I don’t know why he took a liking to me. But he did. And he never let go. I felt like…like his son. He was closer to me than my own father.”
“I’m really proud of his students,” said Christal Whelan. “I know that he wanted to see (the department of surgery) grow in all its diversity and I think from what I’ve seen, it looks that way and I think that he’d be very proud.”
For more, go the the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s website.
Support the endowment
Interested in donating to the Whelan Endowed Chair of Surgery? Go to the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation website.
—By Tina Shelton
