Mentor, Orthopedic Surgeon, Donald Ettelson Dies at 91

Donald “Zeke” Ettelson, M.D., of Laconia, New Hampshire, passed away on Friday, January 27, 2023, at the age of 91.

During his career in orthopedic surgery, he was known not only for excellent patient care, but for mentoring the young doctors who were coming up behind him.

He earned his medical degree from State University of New York in Syracuse in 1956 and interned at St. Joseph’s Hospital, also in Syracuse. He completed a year of residency in general surgery at the E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital in Buffalo, New York, before joining the army.

During his military service, he did a three-year residency in general orthopedic surgery and a one-year fellowship in hand surgery at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, D.C. He also worked with the U.S. Army Medical Corp. and spent a year in Vietnam.

Upon retiring from the U.S. Army in 1966, Dr. Ettelson moved to Laconia, New Hampshire, and set up an orthopedic surgery practice with Dr. Walter N. Garger, serving most of northern New Hampshire and parts of Quebec, Canada. In 1970, he and Garger started the Orthopedic Professional Association, the first of its kind in the state.

Ettelson, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, was the son of Louis and Anna Ettelson. After medical school, he married his wife, Mary Ann Morton of Fulton, N.Y. They were married for 68 years. She passed away in October 2021.

After retiring from his active practice in 2004, Dr. Ettelson continued to serve the community as a hospital volunteer. He also enjoyed exercising, wood carving, model ship building, reading, and attending events with his wife, Mary.

Ettelson and his wife were known for their charitable work and active participation in the broader Laconia community. In his obituary, his family wrote, “Throughout his personal life Zeke and his wife, ‘Mam’ were ‘givers’ in every sense of the word. He was not only a father to his ‘blood’ children, but also to many more…One of Zeke’s non-blood sons summed it up best, ‘Some people rescue animals, Zeke and Mam rescue people.’”

Even in death, Ettelson wanted to help others. He donated his body to the Dartmouth Medical School Department of Anatomy.

He is survived by his children and their spouses: Lucy, Steve and Michelle, Nancy, Joan, and Mike and Michelle as well as his grandchildren Ben and Max and his great-granddaughter Hollis.