A photo taken at a Quaker work camp in Tennessee in 1949, described in chapter 4 of Something in Return. Dr. Kurz is pictured in the right front.
By Kristen Mulvihill
Scheie Vision Summer 2021
Born and raised in Philadelphia, George H. Kurz, MD was the first in his family to pursue a career in medicine. Now retired, Dr. Kurz led an impressive and fulfilling 40-year career, some of which took place at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). To commemorate these years, he recently published a book titled Something in Return: Memoirs of a Life in Medicine.
Dr. Kurz received his undergraduate and medical degrees at UPenn. He then completed a rotating internship and his ophthalmology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 12 years prior to the opening of the Scheie Eye Institute. He pursued a fellowship in ophthalmic pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology under the mentorship of Lorenz E. Zimmerman, MD.
From 1963 to 1994, Dr. Kurz practiced general ophthalmology at Hunterdon Medical Center (HMC) in Flemington, New Jersey. Initially, all HMC specialists were required to spend one day per week at New York University (NYU) Medical Center. At NYU, Dr. Kurz taught residents and conducted research in the ophthalmic pathology laboratory. He also worked as a consultant in pathology at Wills Eye Hospital one day per week from 1978 to 1985. In addition, he taught family practice residents at HMC and medical students at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where he served as Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the time of his retirement in 1994.
“Teaching remained a favorite part of my life in ophthalmology,” Dr. Kurz explained.
Following his retirement, Dr. Kurz developed interests in teaching English as a second language, constructing houses with Habitat for Humanity, and collecting bicycles to ship to developing countries. Having published a book in 1987 about his father’s memoirs, he began compiling his own stories and writing Something in Return: Memoirs of a Life in Medicine, which was published in 2020.
“At the 50th reunion of our UPenn medical school class, more than 50 of us made speeches, thankfully brief, recounting exciting or unexpected events in our careers,” Dr. Kurz said. “In my own medical career, so many events stood out in my memory that I set out to write about them when I connected with a creative writing group shortly after retirement.”
Stuart L. Fine, MD, seventh Chairman of the Ophthalmology Department, wrote a foreword for the book, which recounts Dr. Kurz’s experiences in the field of ophthalmology.
“My book is filled with many notable events, some inspiring, many humorous, and a few heartbreaking,” Dr. Kurz said. 
Dr. Kurz and his late wife Elisabeth, a Certified Ophthalmic Technician, also traveled abroad to teach and provide patient care, visiting China, Ecuador, the Philippines, and Africa. Assisting Tanzanian ophthalmologist Dr. George Msella, Dr. Kurz participated in the first intraocular lens implantation in Tanzania, which he shares in his book.
The day after the procedure, the patient sat up in bed and graciously thanked Dr. Kurz. “When I couldn’t understand the Swahili that followed, a nurse explained, ‘He’s asking God’s blessing for you. He is so happy he can see!’” he recalled. “I walked back downstairs with tears welling up in my eyes, overwhelmed with a feeling of what a privilege I had had.”
Through the years, Dr. Kurz maintained a strong relationship with Scheie. He served as a visiting instructor and presented an annual series of lectures in pathology for a graduate course in ophthalmology.
“My favorite part of my connection with the Scheie Eye Institute became the annual alumni meetings, at which I often presented papers,” he said. “In 2010, Dr. Fine invited me to give the Honored Alumnus Lecture at the 136th Anniversary of the Ophthalmology Department.”
Dr. Kurz currently resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Over the years, he has enjoyed bicycling, tennis, sailing, and waterskiing, and teaching these to his five children and seven grandchildren. He also sang in his church choir and held leadership positions in church committees and nonprofit organizations.