Dr. Peter Joseph Gulden Jr.

Peter J. "Pete" Gulden, Jr., M.D., 73, passed away surrounded by his family on August 28th, 2012, at his hospital, Winter Park Memorial, where he had practiced medicine for 25 years. Born in Palmerton, PA, on May 26th, 1939, to Peter J. Gulden, Sr., and Margaret Bruch, Pete was an Eagle Scout, and, as a gifted jump shooter, led the Palmerton High School Blue Bombers basketball team to the Pennsylvania state championship game in 1956. At Palmerton High School, Pete also lettered in football and track, and was an “ace” in the 220 and 440 yard dashes. In 1957, his senior year, he was inducted into the National Honor Society. Upon his graduation, Pete attended Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA, on a full athletic scholarship, starring as a forward for the Presidents’ basketball team, and receiving an All American Honorable Mention in 1961. He was also a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, and graduated from W & J with honors in 1961. In 2001, Pete would be inducted into the W & J Sports Hall of Fame. After college, he attended the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia, PA, where he earned his medical degree in 1965. Following Penn, Dr. Gulden served as a flight surgeon for the United States Air Force at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base in the Republic of Vietnam from 1966 to 1967, attaining the rank of Captain.

After his service in Vietnam, he settled in Winter Park, where he practiced internal medicine with his friend and partner, Dr. Sid Lauteria. As an internist, Dr. Gulden was a diagnostician without equal, and it was in the care of his patients that he found his most profound joy. "Listen to the patient" he would say, and he listened with a compassionate heart. All who sought healing by him were treated as his family, and he endeavored without repose to take away their suffering.

With Elizabeth Hawthorne Faiella, he raised two sons, Peter J. "Tres" Gulden, III, and David Hawthorne Gulden, whom he loved beyond expression. Never was a father more generous with his affection or his counsel, and never did two sons love a father more. It is chiefly in these men that the light he brought into the world carries on. His boys fought alongside him until the end.

He is survived by his brother, Jan D. Gulden, D.D.S. and his wife, Karen, of Palmerton, PA, and by his 2 sons, Peter J. Gulden, III, and David Hawthorne Gulden and his wife, Abby; and their mother, Elizabeth Hawthorne Faiella; all of Winter Park, FL; his nieces Pamela Thompson and Sue Smith; and his dearest friend, Dave Osterhout, of Washington, DC.

Dr. Gulden passed from us bravely and nobly, and with a will unbowed by tribulation. Our hearts are shattered, but our love for him will never cease. Stand up, Dad, you are free.

Flowers may be sent to Carey Hand Cox Parker Funeral Home and Donations can be made in honor of Dr. Peter J. Gulden, Jr., to the Arthritis Foundation at www.arthritis.org

Services for Dr. Gulden will he held on Monday, September 3rd, 2012, at 10:00 a.m., at the First United Methodist Church, in Winter Park, FL followed by a reception at the University Club of Winter Park, 841 N. Park Avenue.