1934
George
2014
George J. Toland
July 16, 1934 — December 24, 2014
Harlingen, TX:
Dr. George Jefferson Toland, Jr., 80, died suddenly on Wednesday, December 24, 2014. George was born July 16, 1934 in Brownsville, Texas, the oldest son of Clara “Teddie” Starck Toland and Dr. George J. Toland, Sr. Growing up in Brownsville, George enjoyed helping his father, one of the first dentists in town, tend to horses at their family farm and playing football for Central High School. George went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, and then went on to obtain a medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
While in Galveston, he met June Lee, a public health nursing student, through mutual friends. She turned out to be the love of his life and they wed the day after graduation and were married for 52 years before her death May 18, 2012. Immediately after the ceremony in Houston, and a quick honeymoon in New Orleans, the couple drove their Renault convertible to Miami where George completed his pediatric internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital. George was then drafted into the United States Army, obtaining the rank of Captain, serving as a base pediatrician at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, where his first son, George Jefferson Toland, III was born. Upon leaving army life, he returned to Galveston for his pediatric residency, moved to Harlingen to join the Valley Children’s Clinic, and became board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. His sons, Cary Michael Toland and John Stephen Toland, were born at “his” hospital, Harlingen’s Valley Baptist. He did a tour of duty as Chief of Pediatrics at Valley Baptist Hospital, went on to form the Harlingen Family Night Clinic in 1985, and later served as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the UTSA Health Science Center – Regional Academic Health Center.
In addition to a general pediatric practice, with a subspecialty in ADHD testing and diagnosis, George was a successful business owner, a member of the Harlingen Rotary Club, a board member of the Gladys Porter Zoo and on the Lamm Scholarship Committee at the Valley Baptist Hospital.
Throughout his more than fifty years of practice, George relished his role as a pediatrician and never stopped seeing the world through the “eyes” of a child. He enjoyed nothing more than viewing himself as a “second father” to thousands of patients.
Outside of the office, George had a nearly insatiable appetite for hunting and spending time with his children and grandchildren, which he enjoyed with equal fervor. The way George lived his life can perhaps best be summed up through the words of his late wife June, who would often remark, “George always sees the good in everyone.” As such, George intentionally and consistently lived out his core belief that every child born into this world, if given love, healthcare, education and basic necessities has the potential to achieve anything they set their minds to.
A deeply caring doctor, dad, father-in-law, grandfather and dear friend to so many, his positive attitude and wonderful sense of humor will be greatly missed. A poem kept by his and June’s bedside sums up the way they both lived their lives, "When morning breaks and I face the day, This dear Lord, is what I pray, That when the same day turns to gray, Some child of yours may be happier be, May find himself more close to Thee, Because I lived this day!"
He will be missed most by his surviving family of sons: George Jefferson Toland, III (of Anaheim Hills, CA), Cary Michael Toland (of Brownsville), and John Stephen Toland (of Austin); their spouses Peter and Maggie, Debbie, and five grand children, Cary, Brighton, Spencer, Bentlee and Boden, as well as numerous cousins.
Funeral mass will be held at St. Anthony's Catholic Church at 209 South 10th Street in Harlingen, Texas, Tuesday, December 30 at 11:00 a.m. with a burial service to follow at Buena Vista Memorial Park in Brownsville.
A rosary will be held on Monday, December 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home in Harlingen, where a memorial book will be available for signing throughout the day.
Memorial gifts in George's memory can be made to the Gladys Porter Zoo, 500 E. Ringgold Street, Brownsville, Texas 78520, and to Loaves & Fishes, 514 South E Street, Harlingen, Texas 78550.
Dr. George Jefferson Toland, Jr., 80, died suddenly on Wednesday, December 24, 2014. George was born July 16, 1934 in Brownsville, Texas, the oldest son of Clara “Teddie” Starck Toland and Dr. George J. Toland, Sr. Growing up in Brownsville, George enjoyed helping his father, one of the first dentists in town, tend to horses at their family farm and playing football for Central High School. George went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, and then went on to obtain a medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
While in Galveston, he met June Lee, a public health nursing student, through mutual friends. She turned out to be the love of his life and they wed the day after graduation and were married for 52 years before her death May 18, 2012. Immediately after the ceremony in Houston, and a quick honeymoon in New Orleans, the couple drove their Renault convertible to Miami where George completed his pediatric internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital. George was then drafted into the United States Army, obtaining the rank of Captain, serving as a base pediatrician at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, where his first son, George Jefferson Toland, III was born. Upon leaving army life, he returned to Galveston for his pediatric residency, moved to Harlingen to join the Valley Children’s Clinic, and became board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. His sons, Cary Michael Toland and John Stephen Toland, were born at “his” hospital, Harlingen’s Valley Baptist. He did a tour of duty as Chief of Pediatrics at Valley Baptist Hospital, went on to form the Harlingen Family Night Clinic in 1985, and later served as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the UTSA Health Science Center – Regional Academic Health Center.
In addition to a general pediatric practice, with a subspecialty in ADHD testing and diagnosis, George was a successful business owner, a member of the Harlingen Rotary Club, a board member of the Gladys Porter Zoo and on the Lamm Scholarship Committee at the Valley Baptist Hospital.
Throughout his more than fifty years of practice, George relished his role as a pediatrician and never stopped seeing the world through the “eyes” of a child. He enjoyed nothing more than viewing himself as a “second father” to thousands of patients.
Outside of the office, George had a nearly insatiable appetite for hunting and spending time with his children and grandchildren, which he enjoyed with equal fervor. The way George lived his life can perhaps best be summed up through the words of his late wife June, who would often remark, “George always sees the good in everyone.” As such, George intentionally and consistently lived out his core belief that every child born into this world, if given love, healthcare, education and basic necessities has the potential to achieve anything they set their minds to.
A deeply caring doctor, dad, father-in-law, grandfather and dear friend to so many, his positive attitude and wonderful sense of humor will be greatly missed. A poem kept by his and June’s bedside sums up the way they both lived their lives, "When morning breaks and I face the day, This dear Lord, is what I pray, That when the same day turns to gray, Some child of yours may be happier be, May find himself more close to Thee, Because I lived this day!"
He will be missed most by his surviving family of sons: George Jefferson Toland, III (of Anaheim Hills, CA), Cary Michael Toland (of Brownsville), and John Stephen Toland (of Austin); their spouses Peter and Maggie, Debbie, and five grand children, Cary, Brighton, Spencer, Bentlee and Boden, as well as numerous cousins.
Funeral mass will be held at St. Anthony's Catholic Church at 209 South 10th Street in Harlingen, Texas, Tuesday, December 30 at 11:00 a.m. with a burial service to follow at Buena Vista Memorial Park in Brownsville.
A rosary will be held on Monday, December 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home in Harlingen, where a memorial book will be available for signing throughout the day.
Memorial gifts in George's memory can be made to the Gladys Porter Zoo, 500 E. Ringgold Street, Brownsville, Texas 78520, and to Loaves & Fishes, 514 South E Street, Harlingen, Texas 78550.
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