Robert William Bucholz – 50th Reunion Essay

Robert William Bucholz

Date of Death: 20-May-2016

College: Silliman

(A longer version of this memorial was submitted to the Class Notes September/October 2016 by Marybeth Ezaki , Richard Tedlow, Terry Light, Phil Gans, Derry Allen, and Wil Lam)

Bob Bucholz passed away at home in Dallas, Texas, on May 20, 2016. Bob was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. At Yale, Bob was summa cum laude with a BA in economics. He graduated from Yale Medical School in 1973, and completed a surgical internship at the University of Colorado, then returned to Yale for his orthopedic surgery residency. He met Marybeth Ezaki (class of ’73) while in medical school, and they married while Bob was a resident. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, became a professor, and was the chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery for many years. He taught and mentored numerous surgeons.

Bob was an examiner and director of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, chaired the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery Educational Programming Committee for five years, and served as a president of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery. He also did volunteer work as a surgeon in foreign countries, operating on countless needy patients.

When Kingman Brewster addressed our class in the fall of 1965, he said Yale graduated a thousand leaders. Bob fulfilled that high aspiration as well as anyone could. There are thousands of people in this world living better lives because of Bob’s leadership as a teacher, clinician, scholar, and mentor.

Bob wore his professional achievements lightly. He was beyond modest. He had nothing to prove or show anyone and had no need to tell anyone what he had accomplished. He loved what he did (other than the administrative work of being department chairman). He loved teaching, sharing his knowledge, and promoting his friends, residents, and colleagues.

But Bob’s life was so much more than reaching the top of a demanding profession—much more. First and foremost, Bob was about love of family. He was so proud of his wife, a hand surgeon, and three daughters. His love for his wife was beyond description. Bob and Marybeth prioritized family above everything else and raised three talented, bright, fun, and loving daughters, Emily ’08, ’09MPH, ’15MD/PhD; Claire ’09, MIT PhD in geology; and Hana, soon to be a DPT. He was entirely devoted to his wife and daughters.

Bob loved the mountains of Colorado. He spent his early summers as a camper and counselor at the Sanborn Western Ranch in Florissant, Colorado. He returned whenever he could, eventually making a home at his beloved Aspenridge near Florissant. Bob was an avid hiker and climber of 14,000-foot peaks, often dragging his young children to the top (until they became older and then led the way for him).

One friend visited him a few days before his death and enjoyed a wonderful family dinner with the Bucholz family and saw Bob’s delight as Bob and Marybeth’s grandson entertained everyone. At one point in the dinner, Bob said how smart the visiting friend was when the friend had to interrupt and say, “Just a minute. One of the two of us was Phi Beta Kappa junior year, and it wasn’t I.”

Bob had the mind of a scientist. He never indulged in denial about what his dreadful ALS diagnosis meant. He faced death clear-eyed, never asking that most pointless but often-asked question of why. He did not curse but chose to live his final days fully, with friends, work, and, in particular, family, but really no differently than he had lived all the previous years (but with no operating schedule). He never sought sympathy or attention. He always asked everyone else how they were doing and wanted to know rather than ask anyone to focus on his condition.

“Bob’s passing will mean that his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, grandchild, and the rest of us will have to watch lightning and thunder shows, Monty Python, Blazing Saddles, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show a little more often. Those who wish to make a contribution in Bob’s memory may do so as follows: Bob Bucholz Scholarship Fund at Colorado Outdoor Education Center, Sanborn Western Camps, PO Box 67, Florissant, CO 80816; 719.748.3341.