J. Hugh Visser

1928 - 2024

J. Hugh Visser
09/21/1928 - 08/30/2024
J. Hugh Visser, MD, was the oldest son of Mary Moloney and Jan Peter Visser. A devoted San Franciscan, he loved The City and knew it as few people know it any longer, by Catholic parishes, telephone exchanges, and Key System railway stops. Working with his immigrant parents in their furniture-moving business, he learned every street and neighborhood, but he was a child of the Sunset, fishing at Ocean Beach, ice-skating at the rink on 48th Avenue, and riding his bike down Sunset Boulevard.
Hugh's parents, themselves unable to pursue education beyond 8th grade, encouraged their son's love of school. Up until his death, Hugh could name his classmates from Holy Name, St. Ignatius High School ('47), the University of San Francisco ('51), and Loyola University Chicago ('54). He told stories of favorite teachers, recited poems he'd memorized, and referenced his early Latin studies. After graduating from medical school, Hugh interned at Santa Clara Hospital and then served two years in the Indian Health Service, first with the Sioux at Fort Yates, North Dakota, and later with the Hualapai community at Peach Springs, Arizona. Back at Santa Clara, Hugh bumped into Eleanor Olsen in the cafeteria line. When he apologized saying,"Mea culpa," she replied, "Mea maxima culpa," thus beginning the courtship that led to 55 years of extraordinary partnership.
Shortly after their wedding, the couple was off to Edinburgh, Scotland, where Hugh received specialty training in orthopedics. Upon returning to San Francisco, he joined the newly formed Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, but in 1963 took a leave to live and work with Project Hope in Trujillo, Peru. He and Eleanor packed up their three little girls and spent 18 months providing community healthcare and gathering a lifetime of stories. Returning home again, Hugh spent his surgical career at Kaiser, eventually leading the newly-formed Surgical Short Appointment Clinic. Medicine was both passion and vocation; even after retirement, Hugh continued as a volunteer, providing ongoing care for his elderly patients. In the month before he died, the University of San Francisco awarded Hugh an honorary degree for his humanitarian and philanthropic achievements.
Hugh and Eleanor had five more children and were inordinately proud of their large family. If you met Hugh at a favorite haunt-perhaps the Alemany Farmers' Market or Cole Hardware-he would happily tell you "what they were up to." Later he also shared news of his fourteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Hugh lost Eleanor to Alzheimer's too soon, but is survived by his children Nano, Granya, Maeve, Maura, Sean, Briana, Deirdre, and Brendan and their families, as well as a large web of cherished friends. We are grateful to caregivers Tom, Lavinia, and Huni, who spent countless hours making Hugh comfortable in his final months. Donations in his honor can be made to the California Academy of Sciences or the Monterey Bay Aquarium. A funeral mass will be said on Saturday, December 14, at 11:00AM at Saint Brendan's Parish in San Francisco.