AZVetHistory.com
Arizona Veterinary Medicine 1887 - 1962
Walt Gillespie, DVM
Dr. Walt Gillespie, DVM retired from practice in 1984. Three years later he began a project that had been in the back of his mind for a number of years. He began interviewing "old-timers" in the veterinary profession with the hope of putting their thoughts and experiences into a book. Walt had previously written several articles about early veterinarians and the animal diseases at the beginning the the 20th century for the "Arizona Veterinary News", a publication of the AzVMA.
Walt was born in Ajo, Arizona. His dad taught him a love of the outdoors. He left high school at mid-term in his senior year to work for a rancher in the area. Although he loved that work, he found it not to be a stable enough lifestyle. During the 1940's, he ventured to California, briefly, to work in a defense plant. Yet that work was also not to his liking. He returned to Arizona to work on a ranch until he enlisted in the Navy in August of 1944. He saw duty in the Phillippines and was in the Pacific on VJ day.
Walt's discharge in September 1947 brought him back to Arizona. A major change in his life came with an opening to work in Mexico for a team that was testing for foot-and-mouth disease. After working with a number of veterinarians, they encouraged him to attend college and possibly veterinary school. Walt entered the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1951 and was later accepted into the College of Veternary Medicine at CSU in Fort Collins, Colorado. Graduating in 1959 with his DVM degree, he began practicing in the Phoenix area. Dr. Gillespie passed away in January of 1999.
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Walt Gillespie, DVM
Latest News
New Website Posted at 11/06/09 - 01:16 PMThis is the new official website for the book A History of Veterinary Medicine in Arizona 1887 - 1962. Here you can find out more about the book, look at excerpts and pictures, even buy the book directly from the publisher. Check back from time to time as new content is added.
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