HANOVER, NH — Dr. Harry Bird, who formerly was president of The Hitchcock Clinic and was a longtime Hanover public official, died December 4, 2019, in his Kendal at Hanover home, seven months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. He was 86.

Born in Wakefield, MA, on April 7, 1933, Harry H. Bird graduated from Harvard College in 1954 and from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1958. He served in the Navy Medical Corps from 1957 to 1964, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and was a consultant in anesthesiology to the Surgeon General of the Navy from 1977 to 1989.

In June, he and Carolyn (Stone) Bird, whom he met on a blind date on New Year’s Eve in 1953, celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary. Dr. Bird also leaves his daughter, Dr. Suzanne Bird (Dr. Robert Joseph); his son, Steven Bird (Marta); and his grandchildren, Cameron Bird and Lexi Norris (Jake), Lucia and Liza Joseph. He also leaves a brother, Edward Bird who lives in Belmont, NH.

In October 1964, after leaving the Navy, Dr. Bird moved to Hanover “temporarily” from Chelsea, MA, to take a position in the department of anesthesiology at the Hitchcock Clinic where he stayed on staff for the next 26 years.

A professor emeritus of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dr. Bird chaired DHMC’s Section of Anesthesiology from 1973 to 1983, was the fourth original attending physician of the department and restarted its residency program.

As the Hitchcock Clinic’s president from 1983 to 1990, Dr. Bird was most proud of his efforts and involvement in being an integral part of the DHMC campus relocation from the old Maynard Street, downtown Hanover spot to its current location in Lebanon, even donning a construction hard hat and shovel to participate in the ground breaking ceremonies of the new DHMC campus in October 1988.

“As a public servant, he continued to stress the importance of the bond between provider and patient as central to providing quality care,” Dr. Joanne Conroy, CEO and president of DHMC, said to the staff after he died.

He had served as President of the American Society of Anesthesiology and President of the New Hampshire-Vermont Society of Anesthesiology. He also served as President of the American Board of Anesthesiology, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

More locally, he served on the Hanover Finance Committee, including as chairman from 1969 to 1972, and also had been moderator of the Dresden School District and Hanover School District.

Dr. Bird had served as a Hanover selectmen from 1973 to 1974, as Town Moderator from 1976 to 2002, and was Hanover’s Citizen of the Year in 1985.

Upon being named Citizen of the Year in 1985, Dr. Bird said of the countless hours he had devoted to organizations and his community, “Nothing has been a sacrifice. I have loved every minute of it.”

“This community has benefited from his leadership,” the Town of Hanover said in a resolution when he retired as moderator, adding that when questions arose, officials could “breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Harry was in charge.”

In 1990, he was appointed by then NH Governor Judd Gregg to be the Commissioner of Health and Human Services for the State of NH, a position he held until 1995. He had been a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center trustee and vice chairman and also chairman of the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees.

After retirement, Dr. Bird loved traveling and he and Carolyn took trips all over the world including Africa, Europe, the South Pacific, the Far East, and New Zealand. During the winter months, he preferred living in Delray Beach, Florida, becoming a true “Snow Bird.” A talented pianist who could play almost anything by ear, he adored playing his electric piano and had an unlimited song library of tunes which livened many gatherings with family and friends. Summers were spent peacefully at the Bird cabin on Goose Pond in Canaan, and he loved driving his pontoon boat around the pond. When not on his boat, he could usually be found reading a good book on the deck or cheering for the Red Sox on TV.

Throughout his life Dr. Bird was endlessly curious about and interested in other people. He served as a valued mentor to countless colleagues and trainees, and was an irreplaceable advisor to those he loved.

A gathering to celebrate Dr. Bird’s life and work will be held at Kendal at Hanover on Saturday, April 25, 2020, at 2 p.m. Donations in his memory may be made to either the Brain Tumor Research Fund or the Anesthesiology Fund at DHMC, Office of Development, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756-0001.

To view an online memorial and/or send a message of condolence to the family, please visit, www.rand-wilson.com.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH.