Dr. Thomas Herbert Gootee

Thomas Herbert Gootee, M.D., of Jasper, IN, began his eternal life on February 26, 2013. Tom was the sixth of nine children born to Estella (Fanning) and Leo M. Gootee, DVM. He was born on September 6, 1926, on the family farm on US 231 just north of Loogootee, IN. He loved farming and related well to farmers all of his life. Eight of Leo’s and Stella’s children survived to adulthood; two became medical doctors, two became priests, two became nuns, and three became nurses (his sister Patricia is both a nurse and a nun in Peru, with the Medical Mission Sisters of Philadelphia, PA). His early experiences assisting his father with farm animals and his fix-it and construction skills around the farm were a wonderful foundation for his future skills. Tom’s college studies at Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, were interrupted by WWII. He served in the US Army in the Pacific and became a Staff Sergeant before receiving his honorable discharge in the Fall of 1946. After completing his undergraduate degree, Tom entered the School of Medicine at Saint Louis University. He met Anne M. Dreifke, also from a large Catholic family, and they married in 1949. Tom graduated from medical school in 1952 and moved his young (and growing) family to Jasper in 1953 after completing his residency. Dr. Tom moved back to the area in response to requests from the Little Company of Mary for staff at Memorial Hospital and from Saint Meinrad Archabbey for a dedicated medical doctor. Dr. Tom was the primary physician for the Archabbey for 25 years. The LCM sisters at Memorial Hospital, the OSB monks and brothers at Saint Meinrad, the OSB sisters at Ferdinand, and the Sisters of Providence in Jasper were incredibly supportive and appreciative of Dr. Tom over the years. His service to the religious community was reflective of his approach to medicine. Medicine was his vocation and his life, not his job. He always put his patients before himself. He always wore a suit and tie when at the office and hospital to outwardly show his respect for his patients. Dr. Tom’s first office was over Wilson’s Drug Store at the corner of Newton and Sixth Streets. He and a handful of other doctors utilized the new Memorial Hospital in Jasper and started its legacy of a wonderful, caring medical facility. For many years, Dr. Tom knew the name of every employee at the hospital. In 1960, brothers Dr. Tom and Dr. Francis H. Gootee built their medical clinic at the corner of Fifth and Clay Streets in Jasper, at which time Dr. Francis relocated from Loogootee to Jasper. Dr. Tom offered his medical skills to the community from that office for 45 of his 54 years of medical practice. Dr. Tom and Dr. Francis, and their patients, were blessed with fabulous nurses, receptionists and office administrators over the years. Very special professional and personal thanks to nurses Carol DeKemper and Bonnie Schwenk, receptionist Mary Denning, and administrator Kate Jahn for making Dr. Tom’s last years of practice and his retirement at age 79 a success. In the early days, Dr. Tom was a full-service medical doctor. He had additional office hours after supper, made thousands of house calls, interwove surgeries and emergency room calls in between office hours, and stopped counting after delivering over 5,000 babies. We remember the evening he came home with a beaming face, having just delivered “a baby of a baby I delivered!” Dr. Tom served as Dubois County Medical Officer and in various roles on the hospital staff; he was one of the early members of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a member of many other professional organizations. He was well regarded for his diagnostic and clinical skills. Dr. Tom was a member of the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, the Lions Club, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He gave selfless service to his patients and the community while being a wonderful husband and father. He loved his family, his medical colleagues, his patients, his community, and his country. When he had time from work, he loved to travel (especially driving out West), be outdoors, farm, fish and hunt. He was a man of many interests who lived a full and blessed life. He touched thousands of lives in a caring and professional manner. His easy-going manner, listening skills, sense of humor, and compassion came naturally and were genuine. After his retirement, nothing gave him more pleasure than to be greeted by his patients around town. The comments, compliments, and shared memories absolutely made his day. Thank you all! Dr. Tom is survived by his wife of 64 years, Anne (Dreifke) Gootee, and his seven children: Elizabeth Lexleigh of St Louis, MO; Margaret (James) Carriere of Covington, LA; Jane (Stanley) Nelson of Charlevoix, MI; Anne Heyneker of Winston-Salem, NC; Thomas P. Gootee of Jasper; James (Ting) Gootee of Indianapolis; and Ellen Tamura of Bloomington. He is also blessed with special relationships with many whom he considered part of the family, especially Dr. Martha Yearsley and John Schmitt. Dr. Tom is also survived by his brothers, Dr. Francis H. (Patricia) Gootee and Father Paul R. Gootee, SVD, and his sisters, Agnes C. James, RN, Theresa M. Jatkowski, RN, and Sister Patricia C. Gootee, RN, and many wonderful nieces and nephews. He has eight grandchildren, Kate Colletta (Margaret), Eric Heyneker (Anne), Ashley, Lindsay and Tom J. Gootee (Tom P.), Max Gootee (Jim) and Kaz and Erika Tamura (Ellen), and two great-grandchildren, Ella Green (Ashley) and Carter Williams (Lindsay), with a third great-grandchild, Thomas L. Colletta, III (Kate) due on February 28th. Funeral services for Thomas Herbert Gootee, M.D. will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday (March 2, 2013) at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Jasper, with burial to follow in Fairview Cemetery. The VFW Post 673 will conduct military gravesite rites. Friends may call from 2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., on Friday (March 1, 2013) at the Becher-Kluesner Downtown Chapel in Jasper. The family thanks both the Critical Care and Skilled Caring staffs at Memorial Hospital for their recent compassionate care of Dr. Tom. If you wish, donations may be made to Jasper Memorial Hospital, or St. Joseph Church, Jasper, IN, or Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Saint Meinrad, IN. In lieu of flowers, please hug your doctor.