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Funeral services were held on Oct. 4 for Philip B. Wels, a surgeon who practiced in Buffalo for more than 50 years and a former chair of the UB Council. Wels died Oct. 1 in Wynwood of Kenmore after a brief illness. He was 94.
Born in New York City and educated in Brooklyn, Wels came to Buffalo in 1933 to attend UB, from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1937, a master’s degree in parasitology in 1939 and his medical degree in 1941.
As a student, he was vice president of the student union and president of the Bisonhead Men’s Honorary Society. He was founder of the UB fencing team, a member of the squad for two years and later its coach from 1938-40. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic fencing team in 1936.
His education at the university inspired in Wels a lifetime love for and dedication to his alma mater. He was appointed to the UB Council in 1980. He became vice chair in 1991, served as chair from 1992-97 and then was named chair emeritus. He also served as a trustee of the UB Foundation for more than 25 years.
At the time Wels was serving as honorary chair of UB’s sesquicentennial celebration committee in 1996, the late William R. Greiner, then UB president, commented, “He’s really part of the heart of the place. We couldn’t ask for a better friend and leader than Phil Wels.”
Among the honors Wels received from UB were the Chancellor Charles P. Norton Medal, UB’s highest award; the President’s Medal; and the Chancellor Capen Award. A charter member of the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond J. Gicewicz Family UB Athletics Hall of Fame, he also was recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UB Alumni Association, the Dean’s Award from the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and the Medical Alumni Association Achievement Award.
Wels completed his UB medical studies and internship shortly before the United States entered World War II and then served with distinction for nearly four years in the Pacific Theater as a member of the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
He returned to Buffalo to serve his residency in surgery at the old Meyer Memorial Hospital and in 1950 was appointed to UB’s medical faculty. A board-certified surgeon and clinical professor of surgery, Wels had held several administrative positions in the medical school, including assistant dean. A founding member of the school’s continuing medical-education committee, he chaired its admissions committee from 1965-70, and served as a member of the dean’s advisory council. In 1984, he received the William Halstead Award as outstanding teacher in surgery.
Wels twice served as chair of the Department of Surgery at Millard Fillmore Hospital. He chaired the hospital’s research committee and was a member of its executive, special projects and long-range planning committees.
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