DR. EDWARD J. ZOBIAN

1940 - 2015

ZOBIAN

DR. EDWARD J., of 616 South Park Road, Wyomissing, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family and many friends after a brief yet hard-fought illness on Wednesday, November 18, 2015. He was 75 years old.
Dr. Zobian was born in Philadelphia on February 13, 1940 to Grace and Joseph Zobian. He graduated from Haverford College in 1962 and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1966. He joined the U.S. Army after his third year of medical school. Upon graduation, Dr. Zobian completed an internship at the Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco CA.
Dr. Zobian served as a Battalion Surgeon with the U.S. Army's Nineteenth Combat Engineer Battalion in Vietnam and was decorated twice for heroism, receiving both the Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medal, and retired with the rank of Major.
In July 1970, Dr. Zobian began his ophthalmology residency at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and became Chief Resident Surgeon during his senior year at Wills Eye.
In August, 1973, Dr. Zobian began practicing ophthalmology with West Reading Ophthalmic Associates (now Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania). A group of 3e ophthalmologists with one office in the early 70s has grown to 12 ophthalmologists, 9 optometrists, and 4 offices serving Berks, Schuylkill, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Zobian's specialty was cataract surgery. He was an innovator for intraocular lens implantation, small incision sutureless cataract surgery, and no injection local anesthesia, and had performed over 20,000 cataract operations in his career before retiring in 2014. He was also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and was certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.
One of Dr. Zobian's great joys was traveling to the Philippine Islands to perform free eye surgeries on the country's indigent blind population with the Free Rural Eye Care Clinic, where he had the great pleasure of operating with his son, Joseph, who had also become an ophthalmic surgeon. With the exception of one year, Dr. Zobian traveled to the Philippines each January from 1989 to 2013, performing over 2200 free cataract extractions and lens implant operations.
In addition to being survived by his devoted and beloved wife, Barbara Jeanne Zobian, Dr. Zobian is survived by his 4 sons and 3 daughters-in-law: Dr. Joseph Michael Zobian and Lily Zobian of Ormond Beach FL, Mr. Matthew Edward Zobian of Wyomissing PA, Mr. Edward (Ted) John Zobian and Melanie Zobian of West Chester PA, Dr. David Charles Zobian and Megan Souders-Zobian of Wyomissing PA; 7 grand-children: John Edward Zobian, Michael William Zobian, Tess Xialei Zobian, Benjamin Souders Zobian, Jane Lillian Zobian, Edward (Teddy) Patrick Zobian and Charles Scott Zobian; 2 sisters and brothers-in-law, Doris Zobian Calian and Carnegie Calian and Diane DeMirjian and Charles DeMirjian and a great many nieces, nephews, cousins, and treasured friends.
A Visitation will be held Friday, November 27, from 5 to 8 P.M. in KUHN FUNERAL HOME, West Reading PA. Services will be Saturday, November 28, at 11 A.M., in Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading PA. In lieu flowers, Dr. Zobian has requested donations be made to The Armenian Missionary Association of America, 31 W. Century Rd., Paramus NJ 07652, (201) 265-2607, www.amaa.org.

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