Former associate professor of orthopedics in the department of orthopedics and rehabilitation at Oregon Health Sciences University (OSHU) and the Leo S. Lucas, MD, Outstanding Orthopaedic Educator at OSHU, Theodore John Vigeland, M.D., passed away on January 31, 2024, at the age of 80.
Dr. Vigeland had served orthopedic patients throughout Oregon and taught the next generation of orthopedists for 23 years.
Dr. Vigeland also saw patients at the VA Medical Center and the Adventist Health Medical Center-Columbus Gorge in The Dalles.
In 2003, he was appointed interim chair of the department at OSHU. He also served as president of the OSHU Alumni Association, president of the Multnomah County Medical Association, and president of Meridian Park Hospital.
He was the Oregon representative on the Board of Councilors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the recipient of the Charles A. Preuss, M.D., Distinguished Alumnus Award at OSHU and the Leo S. Lucas, MD, Outstanding Orthopaedic Educator Award at OSHU.
During his distinguished career, he went on many volunteer medical missions to Peru and Ecuador with Capitol City Medical Teams where he repaired bone deformities for children.
He earned his medical degree from the Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine and did an internship and orthopedic surgery residency at Oregon Health Science University Hospital.
Vigeland was born on April 13, 1943, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Dr. George Norman Vigeland and Margaret Vangstad Vigeland. He was the second eldest of five siblings.
He grew up mostly in Rugby, North Dakota, but spent his senior year of high school in Salem, Oregon. He then went to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, for his undergraduate degree.
After medical school, he served as a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1969 to 1973 at a base in Germany.
His family called Vigeland a quiet hero not only at the hospital but at home where he was always supportive of his wife’s and children’s dreams.
He is survived by his wife, Julie, daughter Tess, son Jay and six grandchildren. He also leaves behind brothers, George, Bruce and Jim and sister Peggy.
