Doc Hiss Remembers What He Loved Most
Dr. Frederick (Doc) Hiss was perhaps best known for dressing in his favorite color, red, from his shirt down to his socks. However, the "Man in Red," as he was known to many, also had a strong affinity for golf, higher education and his patients, particularly youngsters with diabetes.
An internal medicine physician with a specialty in diabetes, Doc Hiss helped establish a summer camp for children with diabetes, which he ran from 1956 to 1976.
"He was one of the first doctors to use that kind of program to help kids learn to monitor and control their diabetes," said his friend and colleague, Dr. Terrence Horrigan, chair of the UT Medical Center?s department of obstetrics and gynecology.
The relationships he formed with his young campers and patients lasted a lifetime, according to his wife and office nurse for 30 years, Jean Hiss. "When he was with them, he was like a big kid," she said. "Years later, when he was sick, they came from all over to visit him."
Though Doc, who died in March, won't be on hand to join the campers at an upcoming reunion, his legacy to the care of diabetes lives on. Through his charitable remainder trust, the Hiss Family Fund for Diabetology will improve diabetes research and education at UT for years to come.
Doc also chose to remember and benefit another passion through an endowment established for the UT Men's Golf Team. Doc had originally met members of the golf team through his membership at Toledo Country Club, the team?s former home course, and through his friendship with the club pro, Don Kotnik.
"He loved golf, and he loved the team," said Coach Jamie Mauntler. Doc was easily identifiable, he said, by the fact that "he always wore red when he played, and always had a goose feather in his hat."
But it was Doc's appreciation of the game and his affection for the team that UT golfers will remember most. And the Hiss Family Men's Golf Scholarship will allow generations of UT golfers to remember him, said Mr. Mauntler.
"That funding each year will enable us to pay almost a full in-state scholarship," he said, "allowing us to recruit the best kids we can to come to The University of Toledo to study and play golf."
Aiding the UT team members not only in golf but also in their education was important to Doc, his wife said. "He figured education was everything, really," she said. In fact, her husband was instrumental in her obtaining her nursing degree and her pilot?s license. "He thought the more education you have, the better off you are, and the more you can give back," explained Mrs. Hiss.
His very first gift, she said, was a donation of his aunt?s medical books to the fledgling Medical College of Ohio, whose first offices were located in the same building as his practice. From then, his philanthropy to the former MUO and The University of Toledo remained a priority in his life.
"He was one of those people who really believed that there was the right thing to do in life," said Dr. Horrigan. "The things that he supported he supported 1,000 percent, and he chose to continue supporting them through his estate."