Our Speaker for February 16 - Dr. Henry Oster

We had a very special treat for our program.  Dr. Bill Spellman interviewed our very own Dr. Henry Oster.  The first thing we learned was how to correctly pronounce Hank’s last name.  The “O” in Oster is a long vowel, meaning it sounds like you are saying the letter itself.  Although almost everyone calls him Hank, his Mother affectionately called him Henry.

Hank has been married for thirty-nine years to Pam and they have two children.  Hank’s son Seth is a 36 year old free spirited musician.  Hank’s daughter is a 38 year old speech therapist.  Hank is blessed to also have a two year old granddaughter.Hank was born in Oregon; however, he left there when he was just an infant.  He spent much of his childhood growing up in Wyoming on an approximately 750 acre farm. On the farm, Hank grew to enjoy such pastimes as hiking, shooting, and bicycling.  A quick learner, he started driving a truck when he was only nine years old (although it was difficult for him to reach the pedals).  He fondly recalls that his 4-H Project was rather unique; it was raising potatoes!One summer, Hank won a National Science Foundation award for math which included sending him on a trip to St. Olaf College in Minnesota.  While in Minnesota, Hank met a special girl who changed the direction of his life.  She was a bioscience major.  After this special girl showed him a few things (use your imagination), Hank left math behind and became highly interested in biology.  Thereafter, Hank attended the University of South Dakota on a five-year scholarship, followed by medical school at Harvard University.  Hank’s first clinical rotation was in general surgery.  He quickly realized that he did not like the sight of blood.  His second rotation was much more pleasing to him and ultimately became his specialty; it was internal medicine.  Hank also spent some time working and training in Miami where he added infectious diseases to his specialty.

In the late seventies, Hank settled in Ventura, partly because it was one of the few cities in California actually advertising for physicians and partly for the warm, sunny weather.  In the late eighties, Hank became a Rotarian.  In 1990, Hank had to step away from his practice and take a leave of absence from Rotary because he was called to active duty for the Navy Reserve.  After his service duty was completed, he took his family on a three week vacation to Europe before picking up where he left off in private practice. 

In his spare time, Hank enjoys playing bridge (with Gene Cherry), playing the violin, and traveling.

Thank you Hank for sharing your life story with us!

Deborah A. Perkins