Obituary

Oliver W. Hasselblad

Abstract

Dr. Oliver Hasselblad was born in South Dakota USA and graduated as MD from the University of Nebraska. He trained in general surgery and served as a missionary doctor in India from 1938-1959. There he worked also with leprosy patients. From 1959-1973, he served as president of American Leprosy Missions. After retirement he continued to serve the leprosy world through his involvement with the national services in Jamaica and the Hawaiian Islands. Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima had a very special relationship with Dr. Hasselblad. He was ALM's president during the years that the hospital developed and grew to become a recognized Training Centre and he always showed great support for the hospital. There was no doubt in his mind that the Hospital Lauro de Souza Lima would become a Training Centre similar to ALBERT and Karigiri. His motto was "not buildings but we need good people". He was instrumental in bringing Tomas Frist and Dr. Frank Duerksen to Bauru. He supported any activity related to training, teaching and expanding the hospital and personally visited the hospital many times. He was a special encouragement and guidance for me personally, allowing me to get training in ALBERT, Ethiopia and always being available to help me in difficult times. We all lost a great friend and the leprosy world lost a great man. We will always remember Dr. Hasselblad as one of the cornerstones in the development of the Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima and the Rehabilitation Program in Brazil.