Jasper "Harley" Galusha DO

1930 - 2025

J Harley Galusha

July 30, 1930 - March 13, 2025

Jasper "Harley" Galusha, DO, passed away on March 13, 2025, at the age of 94.

Harley was born in Ponca City on July 30, 1930, to Flora Steele Galusha & Jasper John Galusha, where he spent his childhood. He was the eldest of four brothers. He graduated from Ponca City High School, then from Phillips University in Enid, before receiving his medical degree from the Kansas City University of Osteopathic Medicine.

Just before his junior year in college, Harley was experimenting with chemicals when a test tube exploded in his face. It was feared that he would lose sight in both eyes. His eyesight was not seriously impacted; however, this event determined his purpose in life. He decided to dedicate himself to restoring the eyesight of others.

In Kansas City he met & married his first wife, Marlene Frances Boyce; the couple moved to Tulsa where they raised three daughters.

Harley opened his medical practice in Tulsa in 1959. He was one of the few doctors in town at the time who didn't believe in separate entrances & waiting rooms for his large population of African American patients. He was a pioneer in his field & touched the lives of many as a skilled eye surgeon for more than fifty years.

In 1961 he performed the first corneal transplant in Tulsa. In 1969, while doing volunteer eye surgery in Africa he met a Dutch physician who was performing lens implants. After studying lens implants in both California & Europe, Harley was the first eye surgeon in Oklahoma to perform a lens implant & was the fourth eye surgeon in the USA to implant lenses in the eye, marking a significant milestone in ophthalmic surgery.

In 1986, Harley received the Outstanding & Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association.

Harley's practice was chosen as one of ten in the United States by the FDA to run trials on the Excimer Laser. He performed the first YAG laser treatment & the first PRK treatment in Oklahoma with the Excimer laser which later evolved into LASIK.

Harley developed a residency program to train other physicians in Ophthalmology & with nearly 50 trained residents he expanded his reach to millions. He served as President of The American Osteopathic College of Ophthalmology & Otorhinolaryngology; he received the Special Board of Governors Award 2002. He founded & sponsored the Senior Holiday Ball for 13 years. He was the President & board member of the Tulsa YMCA. He also started running marathons in his early seventies & celebrated his 80th birthday by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

He traveled all over the world training eye doctors & offering his services for free.

Among the many joys of Harley's life was his 25-year marriage to Mary McIlhany. They were active at church & in the community; they enjoyed traveling & sharing special times with their friends & their large extended family. Harley was known to be a good dancer but a bad singer. He will be remembered for his "magic penny trick," his bad jokes & the best BBQ Salmon. He was a man with a smile almost as big as his heart. He was gentle, ever humble & courteous, grounded in faith & filled with love for all.

Harley is survived by his wife, Mary McIlhany; his daughters Karen M. Galusha, Laura L. Galusha, & Cheryl Galusha of Vermont; his grandchildren Michael B. Russo, Alec E. Russo, Matthew J. Russo, Jessica H. Huft, Nicholas L. Huft & Morgaine Trine; his stepdaughters Catherine McIlhany, Heather McIlhany & Libby McIlhany; his brothers, John Richard Galusha & David Eugene Galusha, & nieces & nephews. He was preceded in death by his first wife Marlene F. Galusha, his parents Flora & Jasper Galusha & brother Joseph Galusha.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 21, 2025, at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Tulsa.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity in memory of J. Harley Galusha.