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Henry W Hofstetter was born in Windsor Mills, Ohio, on September 10, 1914, to immigrant parents, Kaspar Hofstetter from Switzerland and Augusta Kresin Hofstetter from Germany. The eighth of eleven children raised on a farm near Huntsburg, Ohio, he attended Western Reserve University, Kent State University, and The Ohio State University. He obtained his B.S. in Optometry as well as his M.S. and Ph.D. from Ohio State, and it was there that he met Frances Jane Elder, whom he married on July 5, 1941. After two years at Western Reserve and needing to earn money for his education, Hofstetter got a job teaching all eight grades in a one-room school, with extra pay for janitor duties. It was there that he discovered the importance of student interaction and the need to keep education personal. With only a few students in each grade, they had to help each other, reinforcing individual skills and sense of responsibility. He lived with an older sister and her husband, a jeweler in Middlefield, Ohio, and it was they who encouraged him to look into Optometry. His Ph.D. in Physiological Optics was the first such granted in the United States.
Dr. Hofstetter was known by optometrists worldwide as a result of his interest in international optometry and his focus on optometric practice and education throughout much of the world. In 1991 he was recognized as the International Optometrist of the Year by the International Optometric and Optical League for his "profound influence upon the visual welfare of mankind." In April 1999 at an international symposium held in his honor at IU, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the World Council of Optometry. Hofstetter himself considered his most significant achievement to have been his influence on optometric curriculum, where he introduced much of his own personal philosophy into courses, including cultural and broad-based scientific background rather than a purely clinical approach. He authored four textbooks and over 500 papers, and co-authored the Dictionary of Visual Science and Related Clinical Terms, including the 5th edition published in 2000. He is a Past President of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, the Optometric Historical Society, and the American Optometric Association. He has received five honorary doctorates, the Prentice Medal, the Apollo Award, the AOA Distinguished Service Award, the Indiana Optometric Association's Distinguished Service Award, and the Orion Award (the highest award of the Armed Forces Optometric Society). One of his most cherished honors was his appointment in 1974 to the distinguished rank of Rudy Professor of Optometry at IU. He served on the Bloomington Hospital Board for six years, was a member of Rotary International for more than 40 years, and Past President of the Bloomington Rotary Club. Dr. Hofstetter was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Jane. He is survived by his daughter Ann Delaney of San Francisco, CA; his daughter Susan Mohme and her husband Bill of Slidell, LA; two grandchildren, Katherine Delaney and Christopher Mohme; his brothers Carl and Edwin Hofstetter and sisters Edna Savoy and Edith Conway. Memorial contributions may be made to the Indiana University Foundation, the American Optometric Foundation, the Optometric Historical Society, the Bloomington Rotary Foundation, or the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.
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