Cleveland Jewish News via JTA – The day after his 100th birthday, July 10, Dr. Howard Tucker traveled downtown to kick off the Cleveland Guardians baseball game.
“I just hope that I can put the ball where it should be,” says the American doctor, laughing. ” I trained myself. »
If Tucker has a strong background, it’s particularly in medicine. Last year, Guinness World Records confirmed the Cleveland Heights, Ohio resident as the world’s oldest working doctor. He still teaches at St. Vincent Charity Hospital in Cleveland and is a forensic expert in his spare time.
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One of his 10 grandchildren, Austin Tucker, is currently producing a documentary about his life to be called “What’s Next?” » [Et après ?]
“I have no choice but to be active: I can’t stand staying at home,” Tucker explains. “As long as people accept me, I will continue to work. I like it very much. »
Born in 1922, Tucker knew he was destined for medicine while still a student at Cleveland Heights High School.
“At that time, neurology was in its infancy,” Tucker recalls. “There is something mysterious in the brain. It’s almost mystical. That’s why I got into neurology. »
After graduating from high school in 1940, Tucker attended Ohio State University in Columbus, earning his undergraduate degree there, before going on to medical school.
Upon completing his training in 1947, Tucker became chief neurologist for the Atlantic Fleet at a US Navy hospital in Philadelphia during the Korean War.
“Anyone released from the Navy for neurological reasons, residing east of the Mississippi, will have been screened by me,” Tucker recalled.
After the war, Tucker trained at the New York Neurological Institute. He has the memory of a “remarkable training” in this establishment which had 14 floors entirely dedicated to neurology and psychiatry.
“My boss at the Cleveland Clinic told me, ‘You can learn more than anything I could teach you. I want you to apply to the New York Neurological Institute.’ It changed my life. It’s a great experience,” says Tucker.
Dr. Howard Tucker practices for his pitch during the Cleveland Guardians game. (Courtesy: Tucker/via JTA)
Not only did the institute play a central role in Tucker’s medical career, but it was also where he met his wife, Sara, who, at 88, is a psychiatrist, also still practicing. The couple are active members of the Synagogue Park, a conservative congregation in Cleveland Heights.
“At the time, I was teaching third-year medical students,” Tucker recalls. “One day, I said to myself: ‘She’s a pretty girl’. Six months later, I passed her on the street and we started talking. That’s how I got married. I have been very lucky. »
Tucker has witnessed many discoveries during his career, both in medicine and technology. The CT scan, for example, had not yet been invented when Tucker began practicing neurology.
“We used to think long and hard about the problems that came our way because there weren’t such good diagnostic tools,” says Tucker. “We used to talk endlessly. Was it a tumor? Was it an anomaly indicative of a stroke? At that time, we had to work harder, but it was stimulating. »
Not one to sit idle for too long, Tucker decides to attend Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University after serving as an expert witness in a case. He finds the legal system exciting and makes the decision to complete his law studies while continuing to practice medicine. He graduated and passed the Ohio bar exam at the age of 67.
Dr. Howard Tucker skiing. (Courtesy Tucker/via JTA)
Austin Tucker and Taylor Taglianetti, director and producer of “What’s Next?” hope the film will illustrate the inspirational potential of seniors and the struggles Tucker overcame to stay current in a rapidly changing medical profession.
Both see the man as the “perfect example of what one person can do to change the world”.
Tucker – whose mother died aged 84 and whose father lived to be nearly 96 – has his sights set on the future. He gets it from his parents.
“My father bought himself a car at the age of 93. As he pulled out of the parking lot in his new car, he said, ‘I’m not sure I’m going to get used to this Chevrolet: I think I’m going to go back to Buick,’” Tucker said.
“I said to myself: ‘Ah yes, he is 93 years old and he is buying a new car.’ So I also bought a car when I was 94. I think the next one will be a BMW. »
This article, published in the Cleveland Jewish News, is republished with their permission.
