Lutter, Lowell Dean “Hap” (09/171939–10/04/2009).

Lowell “Hap” Lutter from Libertyville, Illinois received a B.A. degree in Chemistry-Zoology from Grinnell in 1961. Hap was actively involved in Grinnell as a student, a member of the cross-country team for four years and president of the Senior Class. He always gave Grinnell great credit for teaching him things about life that came from the classroom, the dormitory and the playing field. His life and career were unique in his service to others. Grinnell recognized his many achievements by honoring him with the Alumni Award in 2006.

The last four of his 70 years saw him valiantly wage a fierce battle against bladder cancer. His oncologists were amazed that he was riding his bike and swimming two days after chemo that sent most people to bed. The day before his death he was astonished and delighted to learn that his children, along with friends and colleagues, had created a fund to name the cross-country ski trails in Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis in honor of him and his wife Judy. A surprise dedication on October 2 saw him still full of life and love.

Hap graduated from the University of Chicago Medical School in 1965. An internship in pediatrics and his orthopedic residency at the University of Minnesota were interrupted by two years of service as a captain in the U.S. Air Force (1967-69). Hap then completed a fellowship with the U.S. Health, Education and Welfare Department in Tunisia, training orthopedic surgeons and treating children and adults with disabilities. Falling in love with Tunisia, he and Judy returned with their family 34 more times as he continued his work as a medical volunteer with CARE/Medico.

An orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle, he was a champion for children with dwarfism, brittle bone disease and muscular dystrophy. If you were a runner with an injury in the last quarter of the 20th century, he was the man you wanted to see, because he understood the runner’s obsessions as well as the mechanics.

In addition to an active private practice, Hap was a volunteer physician on the staff of Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota for 27 years and served as Editor-in-chief of Foot and Ankle International (1993-2004) where his monthly editorials were the highlight for most readers.

Hap lived a life full of joy and accomplishment — 47 years of it married to the love of his life, Judy, his Grinnell classmate whom he met in freshman chemistry class. At Hap’s memorial service Judy said there was always chemistry between them and a love for challenge, adventure and physical activity that enriched their lives. Unlike many of his generation, he played an active role in the lives of his three children, Wendy, Reid and Parke, enabling Judy to complete two graduate degrees and found a nonprofit organization.

To his family, Hap was a loving and inspiring husband, father and “Papa.” To his colleagues he was “a beacon of light.” To his patients, he was a kind and caring physician. To his worldwide circle of friends, he was a generous host, reassuring medical advisor and wry instigator.

Woven through all of this, he found time to be a healer, marathon runner, fly-fisherman extraordinaire, author, world traveler, conservationist, sculptor, volunteer and “someone who raised the bar on love and friendship” for all who knew him.

After retiring from practice Hap became a recognized sculptor, continually taking classes at the University of Minnesota where he delighted in knowing and encouraging young artists. Grinnell Alumni Council friends of Hap and Judy donated money which was used to buy equipment for Grinnell’s sculpture department and partially fund a collaborative art and chemistry papermaking tutorial.

By Judy Helen Mahle Lutter