Dr. Harry Zeltzer

Harry Zeltzer, O.D., D.O.S., F.A.A.O., died Aug. 12 at the age of 91. Dr. Zeltzer “was a visionary and a true renaissance man who had a big heart, as well as an inventor, web-master, artist, fisherman and sailor who loved to dance,” according to an obituary in the Ipswich Local News (bit.ly/ZeltzerIpswich ).

The New England College of Optometry (bit.ly/ZeltzerNECO ) noted that optometry lost an “icon,” “who had a significant impact on the field of optometry.”

Born in 1929, Dr. Zeltzer served as a medical technician in the Army of Occupation in Japan during World War II. Then, he practiced optometry in Waltham, Mass., for 35 years and invented and patented the X-Chrom contact lens for treating color deficiency.

He was a consultant to Helen Keller International, worked with VOSH international, receiving the VOSH/International Lifetime Achievement Award and was the Essilor-UNESCO Humanitarian in 2003. OM