Centennial
David Brezel, OD'44, FAAO, was born in Philadelphia in 1919 and was the first in his family to attend college. He attended Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), at the height of World War II.
Due to the war restrictions, the textbook that PCO's anatomy course used was unavailable as it was printed in England. It was then that Dr. Brezel volunteered to make a series of 14 large format charts of the anatomy of the eye as teaching tools. The charts were so accurate that they continued to be displayed in the anatomy lab at PCO for the next 30 years. Also hung in the anatomy lab was a sign that read “Here is where the dead teach the living,” which later inspired him to will his body after passing to a local medical school for teaching purposes.
Immediately after graduating in 1944, Dr. Brezel began working to improve the optometry profession and also served in the community. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, serving as president of the local Philadelphia chapter. He also volunteered frequently to perform free public vision screening tests at fairs and schools. He remained involved with PCO as a guest lecturer, and always looked forward to giving his annual lecture to the senior class on “Living the Good Optometric Life.”
Although Dr. Brezel had a very active practice on South Broad Street in Philadelphia for 30 years, he had always dreamed of living by the water to swim in every day. It was his love for the ocean that prompted he and his wife Margaret to move to Atlantic City, N.J., and he swam every day. After some time, they moved to sunny Santa Cruz, Calif., and later to San Diego, Calif., and he kept swimming every day. In 2002, they finally settled in Kailua, Hawaii, where he continued to practice optometry and swim daily in crystal blue water. Dr. Brezel swam in the ocean every day, until he was in his mid-90s.
Besides being a lover of the ocean, Dr. Brezel was also an aficionado of opera and classical music, and when he lived in Philadelphia, he attended concerts at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, sometimes several nights a week. He developed a large collection of records and frequently brought friends home after a concert and played and discussed other artists’ versions of the music featured in the concert for comparison.
Dr. Brezel was also an avid reader, participating in book discussion groups for 50 years. Perhaps this is where he developed his own philosophy of life, which he shared often, based on treating one’s self and others with compassion, respect, and lack of prejudice.
Among his passions, it was evident that his love for his profession and his patients was at the top of the list. In total, he practiced for 64 years.
Dr. David Brezel died peacefully at home in Kailua, Hawaii on July 29, 2018, with family present. He was 98 years old.
