Dr Bradford Norma Pease

Here Lies

Dr. Bradford N Pease, M. D.

March 2, 1912 - Portland, Oregon

May 2, 2004 - Bend, Oregon

...under the daisies, under the leaves,

Pease is not here, only this pod,

he has shelled off and gone home to God.

US ARMY MEDICAL CORPS

WORLD WAR II - BRONZE STAR

son. George & Alice (Boutwell) Pease

m. Elizabeth Clark, 1936

m. Joan Hawes, 1972

Section 3

Bradford Norman Pease of Bend died Sunday of natural causes. He was 92.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Dr. Pease was born March 2, 1912, in Portland to George and Alice (Boutwell) Pease. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Portland, and from Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. He served in the Army during World War II as chief of surgery for the 70th Evac Hospital.

He married Elizabeth Clark in 1936 and later married Joan Hawes in 1972.

Dr. Pease moved to Bend in 1945 and helped found the Bend Memorial Clinic. He visited the Lahey Clinic in Boston for additional training and came back to Bend in 1953. He remained at Bend Memorial Clinic until his retirement in 1978.

Dr. Pease was a founder of Mount Bachelor and served on its board of directors for many years. He was a member of the Bend Golf and Country Club, Bend Rotary and served on the Bend Planning Commission.
His hobbies included golfing, swimming, skiing and sailing.

Survivors include his wife of Bend; four sons, Norman of Orinda, Calif., Wilson of Napa, Calif., and William and Andrew, both of Bend; a daughter, Julie Clark of North Lake Tahoe, Nev.; a sister, Ruthie Shuler of Lake Oswego; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother and two sisters.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Charles Medical Center Foundation, 2500 NE Neff, Bend 97701 or Trinity Episcopal Church, 469 NW Wall St., Bend 97701.

Niswonger, Reynolds Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Source:  Bend Bulletin

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Influential Bend man dies at 92

Bradford Pease was town's first general surgeon, a founder of Mount Bachelor

By Lisa Rosetta

Published: May 04. 2004 4:00AM PST
 

Dr. Bradford Pease, Bend's first general surgeon, a cofounder of Bend Memorial Clinic and one of the original investors who built the first ski lift on Mount Bachelor, died Sunday evening.
He was 92.

Known to his family as a devoted father and husband, skilled handyman and avid outdoorsman, Pease was known to the community as an excellent general surgeon who set the standard for medical care for years to come.

"You couldn't find a higher standard to live up to than what he set," said Dr. Neal A. Goldsmith, Pease's surgical partner for 20 years. "He's as talented as any (general surgeon) I've met, and I've met a lot of good ones. He doesn't rate second place to any of them."

Pease, one of the founding fathers of Mount Bachelor, also catalyzed Bend's evolution from sleepy mill town to bustling tourist destination.

Born in Portland in 1912, Pease graduated from Stanford University in 1933 and earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1936, according to a biography written by Dr. Keith Harless of Bend Memorial Clinic and edited by Pease. He completed his surgical internship and residency at the University of Oregon Medical School.

Pease practiced in Portland and served as a surgical instructor at the University of Oregon Medical School before entering the U.S. Army Medical Corps.

He worked as the chief surgeon with a frontline mobile hospital in north Africa, Italy and then Germany, and earned a Bronze Star.

During his service, he helped treat survivors of the Nazi concentration camp and extermination center at Dachau.

In 1946, Pease came to Bend to begin his surgical practice.

At the time, all of Bend's physicians worked in private practice. Pease entered into a partnership with internist Dr. Max Hemingway and general practitioner Dr. C.J. Rademacher to open the Robert Hemingway Memorial Clinic on Wall Street, named in honor of a general practitioner who had died in service during World War II.

The three physicians had served in the war and valued the advantages of working in a group practice. Dr. Max Hemingway later left the group for solo practice. To avoid confusion, the name of the clinic was changed to Bend Memorial Clinic.

But once settled in his own practice, Pease desired more training to better serve the community. In 1951, he moved to Boston for a two-year surgical fellowship at the Lahey Clinic. Following his training, Pease returned to Bend where he practiced for the remainder of his career.

In 1958, he entered into a partnership with Goldsmith, with whom he worked for 20 years, until his retirement in 1978.

"During the period we practiced medicine together at the Bend Memorial Clinic, he was a strong supporter for me and a good mentor," Goldsmith said.

The doctor said Pease was reserved, never letting his temper flare, or losing his cool in an operating room when stressful situations arose.

Pease set a high standard for medical care that resonates in the community to this day, his colleagues say.

"His standard for himself was very high," said Dr. Jim Lear, a retired general surgeon and colleague of Pease's. "In terms of how he practiced, it really was of the highest quality, and that's what he expected of everybody around him. That had a great deal to do with the standard of practice of medicine in Bend."
In a 1994 interview, Pease described his early days practicing medicine in Bend as a simpler time. The community was much smaller and doctors saw everyone. Most of his patients worked in the mills. He charged $3 for a standard office visit and $100 for surgical procedures like an appendectomy.

"I think Brad always treated everybody the same," said his wife of 32 years, Joan Pease. "He didn't care if the person was rich or didn't have two pennies, he really cared about them."

"He did surgery absolutely to the letter." she said, "He didn't just go in there and rush through it."

Although he retired from his surgical practice in 1978, Pease continued to be a part of the local medical community, attending Bend Memorial Clinic functions. In 1999, St. Charles Medical Center offered the first Pease Symposium, thanks to an endowment from the doctor, to offer local doctors education on health care innovations.

"I feel he had a real kindness," Joan Pease said. "Many times we didn't go out of town because a patient was critical. He had such a loyal following. Bend was small, but so many people thought he was a god because they felt he really cared about them."

But Pease's accomplishments were not limited to the sphere of medicine. His love for skiing led to the development of Mount Bachelor.

Pease was among the five investors, led by the late Bill Healy, to put up money to build the first chairlift on Bachelor in the late 1950s. He remained on the company's board for several years.

Dan Rutherford, president of Mount Bachelor, worked with Pease for years, he said. Even after Pease stepped off of the board of directors in 2000, he returned on weekends to watch the children's' programs, evaluate the quality of the food service and to make sure the ski resort was running smoothly overall.

"From the early development on at the mountain, right through until he retired off of the board ... Brad was just very passionate about the way we developed, how we developed," Rutherford said.

"It's a loss," he said. "It's a huge loss to the community and especially to us at Mount Bachelor."

In a 1999 Bulletin column, Pease described canvassing Mount Bachelor for just the right place to build a ski lift.

"We scouted out Bachelor on one of those beautiful crisp, clear days we have around here," he said. "I remember there was lots of powder. It was incredible. ‘My goodness,' we all said. ‘This is the place.'"

Pease is survived by his wife, Joan Pease, five children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Pease requested that there be no memorial service. Instead, a celebration of his life will be planned, the date and time of which is to be announced.

Lisa Rosetta can be reached at 541-617-7812 or lrosetta@bendbulletin.com.
Kelly Kearsley contributed to this report. She can be reached at 541-383-0348 or kkearsley@bendbulletin.com.

Source:  Bend Bulletin