Dr. George B. Hubbard, Jr.
October 5, 1942 — October 13, 2016
George B. Hubbard, Jr., Longtime Columbus Ophthalmologist, Dies at 74.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM Friday, October 21, 2016 at St. Luke United Methodist Church, 1104 2nd Ave. Columbus, GA 31901, with Dr. Robert Beckhum officiating. The family will receive friends Friday from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM in the St. Luke Ministry Center.
George Hubbard established an ophthalmology practice in Columbus in 1975 and practiced for 30 years before retiring in 2005. He was a founding partner and driving force behind The Surgery Center, the first multispecialty center of its type in Columbus. He served as chief of staff at Columbus Medical Center and as President of the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology. He died on Thursday, October 13th at Emory University Hospital after a long battle with lupus. He was 74.
Born in Nashville in 1942, Hubbard grew up in the small west Tennessee town of Jackson. His mother's family came from middle Tennessee and his grandfather owned a successful furniture store in Nashville. His father was a surgeon who was deployed to Europe for World War II shortly after his birth. His father's family was from rural western Kentucky. The agrarian setting of his childhood in west Tennessee facilitated a lifelong passion for hunting, fishing, and life outdoors. After high school at Jackson High, Hubbard attended college at Vanderbilt University. He stayed at Vanderbilt for medical school and then completed an internship at the University of Iowa. He joined the military after his internship and was a Captain in the US Air Force for 2 years. He next moved to New Orleans for his residency training in ophthalmology at Tulane University, and finally he completed a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology at Columbia University Hospital in New York City. A desire to live in a medium sized town in the South that needed the services of a good ophthalmologist drove his decision to settle in Columbus.
In Columbus, Hubbard's practice thrived. Shortly after establishing his practice, he became extremely busy caring for patients with every conceivable type of eye disease. He was the first in Columbus to use a laser for medical purposes, and for years he was the only ophthalmologist in the region who cared for both adults and children. He quickly became an integral part of the Columbus medical community. In addition to his duties as Chief at the Medical Center, Hubbard also served as President of the Muscogee County Medical Society and was a Councilor to the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology before becoming President of that Society.
Aside from his work as an eye surgeon, Hubbard's main passion in life was as a sportsman. Pinnacle experiences for him were those that involved close friends and family in outdoor pursuits. For Hubbard, life was an adventure. To engage this spirit, he traveled extensively to sparsely inhabited wild places around the world. He was an expert on the big game of North America and Africa, and his passion for hunting these animals ruled the middle years of his adult life. As a child and young man in west Tennessee, he loved duck hunting and quail hunting. As he aged, his passion for quail hunting became preeminent, and throughout his life he owned and bred outstanding English pointer bird dogs. The stewardship of sporting traditions was extremely important to him, and he supported organizations whose missions are to maintain and protect wildlife habitat around the world including Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International, and Quail Forever.
Hubbard is survived by his devoted wife and best friend, the former Judy Bradford Huff. In addition to Judy, Hubbard is survived by three sons: Baker (Karen) and their children Caroline and Kate; Brooks (Brigitte) and their daughter Lizza; Jeff (Jenny) and their children Jeb, Ellie and Tommy. Also surviving are Arden Huff Cheney (Reynolds) and their daughter, Dorothy, and Jimmy Huff (Lisa) and their children, Ceil and Nancy.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Luke United Methodist Church, PAWS Humane, 4900 Milgen Rd. Columbus, GA 31909, or MercyMed, 3702 2nd Ave. Columbus, GA 31901.
1104 2nd Ave
Columbus, ga, 31901
1104 2nd Ave
Columbus, ga, 31901
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM Friday, October 21, 2016 at St. Luke United Methodist Church, 1104 2nd Ave. Columbus, GA 31901, with Dr. Robert Beckhum officiating. The family will receive friends Friday from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM in the St. Luke Ministry Center.
George Hubbard established an ophthalmology practice in Columbus in 1975 and practiced for 30 years before retiring in 2005. He was a founding partner and driving force behind The Surgery Center, the first multispecialty center of its type in Columbus. He served as chief of staff at Columbus Medical Center and as President of the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology. He died on Thursday, October 13th at Emory University Hospital after a long battle with lupus. He was 74.
Born in Nashville in 1942, Hubbard grew up in the small west Tennessee town of Jackson. His mother's family came from middle Tennessee and his grandfather owned a successful furniture store in Nashville. His father was a surgeon who was deployed to Europe for World War II shortly after his birth. His father's family was from rural western Kentucky. The agrarian setting of his childhood in west Tennessee facilitated a lifelong passion for hunting, fishing, and life outdoors. After high school at Jackson High, Hubbard attended college at Vanderbilt University. He stayed at Vanderbilt for medical school and then completed an internship at the University of Iowa. He joined the military after his internship and was a Captain in the US Air Force for 2 years. He next moved to New Orleans for his residency training in ophthalmology at Tulane University, and finally he completed a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology at Columbia University Hospital in New York City. A desire to live in a medium sized town in the South that needed the services of a good ophthalmologist drove his decision to settle in Columbus.
In Columbus, Hubbard's practice thrived. Shortly after establishing his practice, he became extremely busy caring for patients with every conceivable type of eye disease. He was the first in Columbus to use a laser for medical purposes, and for years he was the only ophthalmologist in the region who cared for both adults and children. He quickly became an integral part of the Columbus medical community. In addition to his duties as Chief at the Medical Center, Hubbard also served as President of the Muscogee County Medical Society and was a Councilor to the Georgia Society of Ophthalmology before becoming President of that Society.
Aside from his work as an eye surgeon, Hubbard's main passion in life was as a sportsman. Pinnacle experiences for him were those that involved close friends and family in outdoor pursuits. For Hubbard, life was an adventure. To engage this spirit, he traveled extensively to sparsely inhabited wild places around the world. He was an expert on the big game of North America and Africa, and his passion for hunting these animals ruled the middle years of his adult life. As a child and young man in west Tennessee, he loved duck hunting and quail hunting. As he aged, his passion for quail hunting became preeminent, and throughout his life he owned and bred outstanding English pointer bird dogs. The stewardship of sporting traditions was extremely important to him, and he supported organizations whose missions are to maintain and protect wildlife habitat around the world including Ducks Unlimited, Safari Club International, and Quail Forever.
Hubbard is survived by his devoted wife and best friend, the former Judy Bradford Huff. In addition to Judy, Hubbard is survived by three sons: Baker (Karen) and their children Caroline and Kate; Brooks (Brigitte) and their daughter Lizza; Jeff (Jenny) and their children Jeb, Ellie and Tommy. Also surviving are Arden Huff Cheney (Reynolds) and their daughter, Dorothy, and Jimmy Huff (Lisa) and their children, Ceil and Nancy.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Luke United Methodist Church, PAWS Humane, 4900 Milgen Rd. Columbus, GA 31909, or MercyMed, 3702 2nd Ave. Columbus, GA 31901.
Visitation
OCT 21. 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM (EDT)
St. Luke United Methodist Church1104 2nd Ave
Columbus, ga, 31901
Service
OCT 21. 1:00 PM (EDT)
St. Luke United Methodist Church1104 2nd Ave
Columbus, ga, 31901
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