Freeman P. Botnick ’63

Freeman P. Botnick ’63, M.D., died on August 23. Freeman was born in Norwich, Connecticut, and attended Norwich Free Academy and was president his senior year. At Dartmouth Freeman headed for medicine and majored in psychology, which led him to an interest in visual motor integration. This resulted in Freeman becoming a senior fellow at Dartmouth, conducting research in eye-hand coordination. He was active in the Outing Club and WDCR and was an active alumnus as an admissions interviewer and class regional agent. He received his M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, in 1967 and continued his research on neuro-ophthalmology. He interned at Rhode Island Hospital for one year and then was recruited by the Public Health Service in Lexington, Kentucky, during the Vietnam War, working with drug-dependent individuals. After completing a residency in ophthalmology at New York University Bellevue Hospital in New York City, Freeman and his family moved to Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where they resided for many years with Freeman’s ophthalmology practice: Eyesight and Surgical Associates in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 2004 Freeman experienced a serious fall resulting in sustained neck trauma that prevented him from resuming work. After retirement the family moved to New London and then Londonderry, New Hampshire. Freeman ran a low-vision clinic for the Association of the Blind and supervised the Lions Orthoptic Clinic for many years. He was the president and treasurer of the Springfield Ophthalmologic Society. He is survived by his wife, Audrey, and daughter Sheryl ’90.