Individual Details
Dr. Earl Swope Gilbert
(11 Mar 1915 - 3 Jan 2015)
Born in central Illinois on March 11, 1915, Earl was the only child of Perry Maynard Gilbert, originally of Michigan, and Verna Eileen (Swope) Gilbert of Illinois. Perry worked for F.W. Woolworth Co. Since Earl's father was promoted several times, the family moved often and Earl grew up in various cities, including Chicago, Buffalo and Atlanta.
He attended two years of college at Emory University in Atlanta and completed his pre-medical studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Earl studied medicine at the University of Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. In Buffalo he met his wife of more than 70 years, Victoria ("Viki") Matusak, through her brother, George Matusak, who was a fellow medical student.
After completing his medical degree, Earl served as a physician/ medical officer (Captain) in the Army Air Corps in Burma during World War II. He was part of the division that built the Ledo road, which was called the toughest job ever given to U.S. Army Engineers in wartime. Its purpose was to re-establish the land supply route to China that had been blocked by the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942.
He returned to the U.S. to study to be a flight surgeon, but the war ended so he was stationed in Florida for a time. In 1945 he did a residency in internal medicine in Buffalo, N.Y.
In the late '40s and early '50s, Earl worked as a tuberculosis specialist and eventually became the director of a T.B. sanitarium in North Riverside, Illinois. A number of his patients were homeless men from Chicago. Earl used his favorite hobby, photography, to create educational slide shows that demonstrated good health practices to the patients. By the mid-1950s a cure for T.B. and the growth of X-Ray technology in treating cancer influenced him to expand his knowledge by doing a residency in radiology at Evanston Hospital, north of Chicago. After working a few years as a radiologist at Evanston Hospital, Earl took a position as the director of radiology at Highland Park Hospital, Highland Park, Illinois, where he worked for several years during the 1960s.
Earl's love of photography dated from his youth. In about 1933 he went on a canoe trip to Hudson's Bay with a group led by LIFE Magazine photographer Wallace Kirkland, from whom Earl learned much about photography. He especially loved photographing landscapes and took several car trips to the West, combining his love for photography with his love of driving long distances. His children still have great memories of a 1950s family trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and several scenic sites in Colorado. He also loved driving a small cabin cruiser boat and taking the family boating and water skiing -- not only on nearby Lake Michigan but on smaller lakes and on rivers, including the Niagara River near Buffalo and the Mississippi. Later, retired and in his early 80s, Earl even did a solo road trip from Canada to Alaska.
Earl's love of the West led him to "semi-retirement" in Arizona. He and Viki moved to Kingman, Arizona, in 1970. Until full retirement in 1987, Earl worked as a radiologist at Mohave General Hospital in Kingman, where he was also named Chief of Staff. He also commuted a few times a week by motorcycle to a hospital in Lake Havasu that lacked a full-time radiologist. Living right near the famous Route 66, Earl and Viki enjoyed more road trips -- sometimes in their motor home. They welcomed their grandchildren for visits and provided a swimming pool and other outdoor activities for them.
In 1993 Earl and Viki moved to Royal Oaks lifetime care community in Sun City, Arizona. After a long life -- in his 100th year -- Earl Gilbert passed away peacefully in his sleep there. His peaceful passing in his sleep was the answer to many prayers.
In addition to photography, Earl enjoyed painting -- especially landscapes and flowers -- listening to classical music and playing chess and ping pong (two games he enjoyed playing into his 90's). His very first passion was buying and driving motor vehicles from sports cars to motorcycle. He loved dogs, especially his sweet Shelties. His father, Perry, had hunting dogs; and, while Earl was not a hunter, he often had a dog and taught his children to care for pets. Earl retained a witty sense of humor all his life, even during his last years at Royal Oaks, where he was truly loved by the entire staff.
Earl is survived by his two daughters, five grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved son, Steven, and his dear wife, Victoria.
On April 17, 2011, on Palm Sunday Earl accepted Jesus Christ as his savior assisted by Sue and Tom Dunn and Nancy (Dunn) Kreer. His family is thrilled they will see him again in heaven someday. As Nancy said, "This life is full of many sad 'good byes' but heaven is full of forever 'hellos'....The next time we see sweet Papa again it will be a forever hello! Praise The Lord for His beautiful promise of eternity together through Jesus our Savior. Praise The Lord that Papa is safe in His loving arms."
He attended two years of college at Emory University in Atlanta and completed his pre-medical studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Earl studied medicine at the University of Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. In Buffalo he met his wife of more than 70 years, Victoria ("Viki") Matusak, through her brother, George Matusak, who was a fellow medical student.
After completing his medical degree, Earl served as a physician/ medical officer (Captain) in the Army Air Corps in Burma during World War II. He was part of the division that built the Ledo road, which was called the toughest job ever given to U.S. Army Engineers in wartime. Its purpose was to re-establish the land supply route to China that had been blocked by the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942.
He returned to the U.S. to study to be a flight surgeon, but the war ended so he was stationed in Florida for a time. In 1945 he did a residency in internal medicine in Buffalo, N.Y.
In the late '40s and early '50s, Earl worked as a tuberculosis specialist and eventually became the director of a T.B. sanitarium in North Riverside, Illinois. A number of his patients were homeless men from Chicago. Earl used his favorite hobby, photography, to create educational slide shows that demonstrated good health practices to the patients. By the mid-1950s a cure for T.B. and the growth of X-Ray technology in treating cancer influenced him to expand his knowledge by doing a residency in radiology at Evanston Hospital, north of Chicago. After working a few years as a radiologist at Evanston Hospital, Earl took a position as the director of radiology at Highland Park Hospital, Highland Park, Illinois, where he worked for several years during the 1960s.
Earl's love of photography dated from his youth. In about 1933 he went on a canoe trip to Hudson's Bay with a group led by LIFE Magazine photographer Wallace Kirkland, from whom Earl learned much about photography. He especially loved photographing landscapes and took several car trips to the West, combining his love for photography with his love of driving long distances. His children still have great memories of a 1950s family trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and several scenic sites in Colorado. He also loved driving a small cabin cruiser boat and taking the family boating and water skiing -- not only on nearby Lake Michigan but on smaller lakes and on rivers, including the Niagara River near Buffalo and the Mississippi. Later, retired and in his early 80s, Earl even did a solo road trip from Canada to Alaska.
Earl's love of the West led him to "semi-retirement" in Arizona. He and Viki moved to Kingman, Arizona, in 1970. Until full retirement in 1987, Earl worked as a radiologist at Mohave General Hospital in Kingman, where he was also named Chief of Staff. He also commuted a few times a week by motorcycle to a hospital in Lake Havasu that lacked a full-time radiologist. Living right near the famous Route 66, Earl and Viki enjoyed more road trips -- sometimes in their motor home. They welcomed their grandchildren for visits and provided a swimming pool and other outdoor activities for them.
In 1993 Earl and Viki moved to Royal Oaks lifetime care community in Sun City, Arizona. After a long life -- in his 100th year -- Earl Gilbert passed away peacefully in his sleep there. His peaceful passing in his sleep was the answer to many prayers.
In addition to photography, Earl enjoyed painting -- especially landscapes and flowers -- listening to classical music and playing chess and ping pong (two games he enjoyed playing into his 90's). His very first passion was buying and driving motor vehicles from sports cars to motorcycle. He loved dogs, especially his sweet Shelties. His father, Perry, had hunting dogs; and, while Earl was not a hunter, he often had a dog and taught his children to care for pets. Earl retained a witty sense of humor all his life, even during his last years at Royal Oaks, where he was truly loved by the entire staff.
Earl is survived by his two daughters, five grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his beloved son, Steven, and his dear wife, Victoria.
On April 17, 2011, on Palm Sunday Earl accepted Jesus Christ as his savior assisted by Sue and Tom Dunn and Nancy (Dunn) Kreer. His family is thrilled they will see him again in heaven someday. As Nancy said, "This life is full of many sad 'good byes' but heaven is full of forever 'hellos'....The next time we see sweet Papa again it will be a forever hello! Praise The Lord for His beautiful promise of eternity together through Jesus our Savior. Praise The Lord that Papa is safe in His loving arms."
Events
| Birth | 11 Mar 1915 | Mattoon, Coles County, Illinois | |||
| Death | 3 Jan 2015 | Sun City, Maricopa County, Arizona | |||
| Burial | Sunland Memorial Park, Sun City, Maricopa County, Arizona |  |  |
Families
| Spouse | Victoria C. Matusak (1918 - 2012) |
| Child | Steven Gilbert ( - ) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Perry Maynard Gilbert (1884 - 1974) |
| Mother | Verna Eileen Swope (1891 - 1963) |
Notes
Burial
Longitude -112.290168Latitude 33.628652
Endnotes
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