Dr. Toll's obituary (appended below) missed quite a few details that this 2012 article includes. A child and grandchild of Jewish immigrants, Dr. Toll was a long-time member of Congregation Beth El in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
Dr.
David Toll: A Beloved Country Physican, by Amy Ash Nixon, Caledonian-Record,
December 128, 2018
DANVILLE
— A visit to Dr. David Toll’s pediatric practice was like a step back in time.
If
a child was sick, you were instructed to come right in, and often Dr. Toll
himself would take the phone call and talk to the child’s parent to find out
what the concern was.
He
had a laboratory upstairs in his building, so getting a strep test, or
bloodwork done was fast and he had the results almost immediately.
Dr.
Toll’s office was Norman Rockwell-esque, vintage Fairbanks scales in the
patient rooms, his office itself a converted Main Street white wooden house,
with toys for the kids and magazines for the parents on tables.
He
was known for never turning anyone away for inability to pay.
The
death of Dr. Toll, 93, over the weekend, caused many in Vermont’s rural
Northeast Kingdom to offer their condolences to his family, and to share
stories of what the region’s most treasured pediatrician meant to them, their
children, and their lives here.
“The
Kingdom has lost a friend,” shared Darcie McCann on behalf of the NEK Chamber
of Commerce. “We have lost Dr. Toll.”
McCann
said, “Medical professionals like Dr. Toll came from a different era, one we
will never see again. It was not just the longevity of his practice but how he
put his heart and soul into the tens of thousands he treated during his decades
of service. Being a doctor was not just a profession to him; it was a calling.
His life was truly extraordinary on how many lives he touched in his own long
life.”
Sue
Willey of Kirby shared, “I had a trusting love for this wonderful friend and
doctor. Shared my family with him from day one of Tracy’s life (50 years ago),
then Christy for 17 years and Dallas’s into college even … So so sad … love to
his family and his office staff that made every visit with him pleasant. Took
the girls in once when they were covered with red spots and Dr. Toll entered
the room took a look from across the room, announced ‘Your cats have fleas!’
followed by a few helpful suggestions about flea terminating and grinning left
the room.”
Dr.
Tim Thompson of Kirby, now retired, arrived in the Northeast Kingdom in 1973
and knew Dr. Toll for many years.
The
three tenants which Dr. William Osler, remembered in history for being the
father of modern medicine, are what Dr. Thompson pointed to in remembering Dr.
Toll and his care of children in the Northeast Kingdom – availability,
affability and ability.
“David
had plenty of ability, and that’s not to make it the last one, but he was
amazing at being available to his patients. He had people coming from all over
the Northeast Kingdom and New Hampshire to see him. It was a great testimony to
his persistence, to his ability to convince people he could really take care of
them. He was just a wonderful doctor here for a very long time.”
Dr.
Thompson continued, “His interest was in really making sure that kids had
access to care, and it’s amazing that he did that as a single practitioner. St.
Johnsbury was a pretty interesting place (to choose to practice in.)”
Of
Dr. Toll practicing until his 90th birthday, Dr. Thompson said, “David didn’t
know what else to do. He wanted to continue being a doctor and it was really
important to him. His patients were very dear to him. He was sick once and I
put him in the hospital and he said, ‘I’ve got to go take care of my two
patients first,’ and he went to discharge them. I couldn’t stop him.”
Dr.
Thompson said Dr. Toll’s wife, Bridget “took great care of him, she was a great
wife and a great caregiver.” Running a medical practice as the sole
practitioner for so many years is a huge commitment and “Bridget gets a lot of
credit,” for being at his side, he said.
Dr.
Thompson said Dr. Toll’s work here and reputation was “why a lot of people were
willing to stay here,” and make their careers in St. Johnsbury.
People
adored him, and trusted him with the care of their children, he said.
He
said, “David was the standard here for pediatrics … I think everybody respected
his persistence and his capacity to be able to deliver care.”
Paul
Bengtson, the recently retired CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital,
worked with Dr. Toll for many years. “I worked with him as a board member and
sometimes president of the medical staff,” said Bengtson. “I worked with him
actively for more than 30 years. He always had a very active intellect, which
personally I enjoyed. He wasn’t particularly enamored of administrators, but I
could roll with that because I actually could understand his point of view a
lot of times.”
“He
had a very long and I would say vibrant and interesting career. He enjoyed a
huge following, almost like I’d never seen as a medical professional. He was a
very smart diagnostician,” said Bengtson. “A lot of people would approach him I
guess around the region for his ability to diagnose, particularly conditions
with children.”
Bengtson
said, “He is one of those people who was a legend - and he was a legend in his
own time. He leaves behind a very nice, large extended family. He was very
aware and smart culturally, too. One of the things I enjoyed about him was his
enjoyment of classical music.” Dr. Toll also was a reader of The Book of
Ecclesiastes, and he and Bengtson would discuss things from it, he said.
“He knew The Book of Ecclesiastes very well,” said Bengtson. “He made
many references to it.”
Toll
continued to see some patients well into adulthood – even their 50s, said
Bengtson.
Holly
Blair of Kirby on Monday said her mother, Merrillee Blair, worked as a lab tech
for Dr. Toll in the years prior to his retirement.
“He
was my doctor from birth until he retired when I was 33,” said Blair, now 35.
“He was such a great man … I have a million fond memories of him – which is
something to be said considering I do not typically like doctors and have been
sick a lot over the years. Dr Toll saw me through everything from routine
childhood illness of strep throats and stomach bugs to more complicated
situations like hospitalizations … (he) probably saved my life several times.”
“The
world has lost so much with his passing and we were so lucky for the many years
of service he gave to so many,” said Blair.
Carrie
Peters of Groton on Monday said Dr. Toll took care of her four children, Torie,
22, Shelby, 21, Wyatt, who died at 15, and Luke, 12.
“When
I was pregnant with Torie I was trying to decide on a pediatrician and I
thought it would be neat to go to the same doctor as my husband had,” she said.
“So that started our journey. Things were pretty uneventful with my girls but
when my son Wyatt was born with special needs then there was lots of visits to
Dr. Toll and lots of questions. Wyatt was born with Microcephaly and had all
sorts of neurological problems.”
“Of
course we spent lots of time at Dartmouth, but it was Dr. Toll who when I asked
him how long did he think Wyatt would live to be told me ‘a teenager,’ that
Wyatt’s brain would not be able to keep up with his body’s needs,” Peters said.
“Oddly enough the specialists at DHMC told me many different answers – from as
long as 50-60 years old to Wyatt will just keep getting pneumonia and die. In
August of 2015 Wyatt passed away peacefully at 15 years old, exactly how Dr.
Toll predicted, not multiple pneumonia’s, just peacefully at home with us. It
still amazes me today how he knew this. And Dr. Toll and Bridget coming to
Wyatt’s funeral and coming over and hugging me meant the world to me and I will
never forget that.”
When
her son Luke was about 5 and was admiring the sailboat pictures on Dr. Toll’s
office wall, Dr. Toll invited him on a 3-day sailing trip, which Luke went home
and packed for, said Peters.
Peters
said, “There are many stories about how he fit us in any day no matter how busy
his schedule was,” said Peters, who said she still misses his ability to
diagnose what is going on with her children. “I always knew I could call, get
in, and that Dr. Toll would take great care of my children.”
A
celebration of life service for Dr. Toll will be held at The Creamery
Restaurant in Danville from 1-4 p.m. on Friday.
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