![\"nolan\"](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/nolan.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDr. Thomas Nolan, Jr.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I was once asked, given my Irish heritage, whether I was a \u201cpoet\u201d or a \u201cbrawler\u201d! \u201cA poet,\u201d I replied, cautioning that even the most soft-spoken Hibernian could become a scrapper under circumstances endemic to the \u201crace\u201d. Yet, there are true Irish gentlemen and in July 1978, on my first day on the surgical unit at Saint Vincent, I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of just such a fellow.<\/p>\n
Rather, I almost walked into a tall, handsome, well-dressed, silver-haired bear of a man who, unlike many surgeons, I had come to know in training, seemed to be \u201cchomping at the bit\u201d to meet me. Our easy exchanges forged my now fondly remembered friendship with Dr. Thomas F. Nolan Jr., then a 58-year-old general surgeon on staff at Saint Vincent.<\/p>\n
Tom not only epitomized the endearing and light-hearted personality of the gentleman Irishman, but as a bonus to a transplant like me, he sported the unique edge reserved for those nurtured in New York City! In the years that followed I discovered many other dimensions of his unassuming nature and the ingredients of his geniality, all worthy of emulation by a young, newly arrived surgeon.<\/p>\n
With a tip of the hat to the late John S. Chaffee M.D., who wrote and published \u201cReflections on Erie County Physicians\u201d in 1990, a monumental retrospective for which it was my privilege to write the forward, I join several history-minded colleagues in the work of continuing Dr. Chaffee\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n
![\"building\"](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/building.jpg\")
<\/p>\n308 East 18th St in Manhattan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Public life and career<\/p>\n
Despite being born in Greensburg, PA (May 15, 1920), Thomas F. Nolan Jr.\u00a0 lived, studied, trained and practiced in New York City. It was there that he met the love of his life, Joan Devine, in \u201cThe City\u201d during surgical training at the legendary Saint Vincent Hospital in Manhattan where Joan worked as a dietician. After their marriage in 1946, she and her New Yorker eventually settled in her hometown, Erie Pennsylvania. Tom completed his surgical training at Saint Vincent Hospital (the one in Erie). He practiced general surgery in Erie from 1950-1986. Upon retirement, Tom and Joan relocated to Madison, Connecticut, where Dr. Nolan died, at 91, on December 7, 2011. Joan passed away on April 23, 2025 just shy of her 104th birthday. The Nolans graced the world with 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and, at the time of Joan\u2019s passing, 3 great grandchildren.<\/p>\n
A life more fully remembered<\/p>\n
In 1846, John and Catherine Nolan and their son, Daniel, fled the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852) making the hazardous trip across the Atlantic on one of what were then referred to as \u201ccoffin ships\u201d \u2013 the term reflecting the mortal threat of the crossing, largely the result of poor sanitation, disease and starvation in the cramped conditions in the bowels of the ships. As in the case of half of the refugees arriving in New York City, the Nolans did not settle there. Since neither John nor Catherine could read or write, John took a job as a laborer on the railroad and that job likely brought the family to western Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nNYU School of Medicine Graduation 1944<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
(Not surprisingly, his Irish heritage meant the world to Tom, as it does for most descended from those who fled the Famine. His devotion to his Irish roots was passed on to his children. His embrace of the Roman Catholic Faith resided deep inside him as well.)<\/p>\n
Dr, Nolan\u2019s father, Thomas, John Nolan\u2019s grandson, advanced directly from high school to Jefferson Medical College,\u00a0 one of the last generation of physicians to do so. After studying at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Tom\u2019s father moved the family to New York City, Tom being 2 years old at the time. Nolan Sr. practiced General Medicine out of the family residence at 308 East 18th Street in Manhattan.<\/p>\n
![\"nolan](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/nolan-photo.jpg\")
Tom and his younger brother, Richard, were raised in Manhattan, both attending Manhattan College (now University) a Catholic College uptown in the borough of the Bronx, 13 miles from home. There being no money for room and board, the brothers commuted to classes by subway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During college, both boys worked at one of the venerable Schrafft\u2019s Restaurants. They both learned to play musical instruments with a proficiency that gained them entry into the Manhattans College Marching Band. Tom had some great stories about marching in many of the parades that New York City has always been famous for. Tom was also a member of the glee club. When asked by his son, also Thomas, what he would have been if not a physician, his dad \u201cnever skipped a beat \u2013 a musician.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom and Richard attended New York University (now Grossman) School of Medicine, their education paid for by the U.S. Government in exchange for the promise of military service. Tom graduated in 1944 as a uniformed member of NYU\u2019s Army Medical Corps.<\/p>\n
Tom served in the States at Fort Sam Houston in Texas and Fort Lee in New Jersey. His brother served in a MASH unit in Korea and went on to become a Thoracic Surgeon in NYC. Tom received a hardship discharge to dutifully take over his ailing father\u2019s general medical practice.<\/p>\n
![\"house](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/house-nolan.jpg\")
<\/p>\n241 W. 10th St<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Tom became known in the 18th street neighborhood where he practiced for placing his black bag down on the \u201cstoop\u201d, joining a stickball game, and slamming home runs.)<\/p>\n
It was during his first years of surgical residency at Saint Vincent Hospital, New York\u2019s premier Catholic hospital, that Tom met and fell in love with Joan Devine. Joan had been raised in Erie, graduated from Villa Maria Academy, and received a degree in Home Economics from Saint Mary\u2019s College in South Bend Indiana.<\/p>\n
They married in 1946 at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Tom and Joan moved to Erie, Tom \u201crecognizing the merits of raising a family in Erie\u201d. Tom\u2019s son notes that Dr. Nolan \u201calways longed for NYC and passed that love on to all of us. We visited often growing up and enjoyed our time there!\u201d (Many of Tom and Joan\u2019s children and grandchildren live and work in the Greater New York area.) He went on to complete his training in Erie and set up his surgical practice in 1950.<\/p>\n
As was not uncommon \u201cin those days\u201d, the Nolan home at 342 West 10th Street, near Cathedral Prep, served as Dr. Tom\u2019s first medical office. Son Tom notes \u201cI remember my mom getting my sister and me up early so our bedroom could become his waiting room!\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"nolan](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/nolan-building.jpg\")
<\/p>\n3123 State St<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
There, Dr. Nolan became the \u201cneighborhood doc\u201d. His children often brought friends who had \u201cgotten hurt\u201d to him. In the 50\u2019s Dr. Nolan could be found serving as voluntary \u201cteam doctor\u201d for his son\u2019s grade school football team.<\/p>\n
From the mid-50\u2019s to the early 1960\u2019s Dr. Nolan practiced from an office that he shared with Dr. James Weaver, also a surgeon, at 3123 State Street before relocating to the Saint Vincent Medical Arts Building at 225 West 25th Street, his office until he retired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Throughout his medical career, Dr. Nolan would make house calls on Sunday after Mass. His son Tom would sit in the living room while his dad tended to the homebound patient \u2013 black bag always in hand!<\/p>\n
![\"building](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/building-3-v2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n504 Cherokee Drive in Frontier<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The doctor\u2019s children grew up absorbing his empathy for the less fortunate. Young Tom remembers that \u201cone Christmas when I and my sisters were little, we all built a gingerbread house from scratch. We were very proud and when we finished dad said \u2018now we\u2019re going to take this to Saint Joseph Orphanage –\u00a0 they don\u2019t have much for Christmas.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As Dr. Nolan\u2019s practice progressed, the family home moved from West 10th St to a Baldwin rental at 36th and Old French Road and, in 1958 to 124 West 36th Street. In 1969, the Nolans made their final move to 504 Cherokee Drive in Frontier, a joyful home they cherished until their move to Connecticut in 1989 following Tom\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n
In their heyday, the Nolan were celebrated for the parties they threw – theme gatherings being Dr. Nolan\u2019s specialty – a favorite being the annual Saint Patrick\u2019s Day gathering at which green martinis were served at the door. Also memorable was the 1969 Moon Landing Party which found the ceiling of the home decorated with spaceships. Tom and Joan\u2019s wine tasting parties were popular, with European maps serving as backdrops to an appreciation of vintage and region. The Nolans would host an Italian tenor with piano accompanist one year and an opera singer another year. As a New York City transplant myself, I found it a special pleasure to have attended a 1983 party celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge (a model of the bridge had been assembled and hung in the front hall).<\/p>\n
In the final category of \u201cwhat you didn\u2019t know about Dr. Thomas Nolan\u201d was his love and talent for poetry. He attributed this interest to his Irish heritage and the inspiration of his mother, Mary Bowen Nolan. The poetic \u201cIrishness\u201d marking this Gentleman Surgeon\u2019s life is reflected in the following piece, offered on Saint Patrick\u2019s Day 1990:<\/p>\n
![\"NOLAN](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/NOLAN-docx-Google-Docs-09-15-2025_10_49_AM.png\")
<\/p>\n
A life commemorated<\/p>\n
Finally, let others speak to the humanity, humor, skill and humility of this gentleman surgeon, in condolences offered on the occasion of his passing:\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"NOLAN](\"https:\/\/www.hagenhistory.org\/assets\/NOLAN-docx-Google-Docs-09-15-2025_10_51_AM.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr. Thomas Nolan, Jr.\u00a0 I was once asked, given my Irish heritage, whether I was a \u201cpoet\u201d or a \u201cbrawler\u201d! \u201cA poet,\u201d I replied, cautioning that even the most soft-spoken Hibernian could become a scrapper under circumstances endemic to the \u201crace\u201d. Yet, there are true Irish gentlemen and in July 1978, on my first day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":306174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12032],"tags":[15275,19075,13550,7290,14721],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-306173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-history","tag-county","tag-erie","tag-lives","tag-physicians","tag-reflections"],"yoast_head":"\n