Ted and Ann Reiver were among the first people to greet me when I returned to Johns Hopkins in 2003 to be the director of the Wilmer Eye Institute. They came as part of the Lions’ annual visit to Wilmer each Fall and to receive an update on the progress being made by our Low Vision and Visual Rehabilitation team, which the Lions support.

A Delaware businessman, Ted had one of those thousand-watt smiles and an ebullient personality. He was a past district governor and international director of Lions Clubs International. The Lions are known as a service organization, and Ted embodied the word “service.” I recall him speaking before his fellow Lions and sharing that his father had passed away, leaving to Ted his prized coin collection. Ted told us that he had decided to honor his father’s memory by selling the collection and gifting the proceeds to the Lions Low Vision clinic to help those suffering from impaired sight. All of us in the room were moved to tears by Ted’s heartfelt comments and manifest desire to serve others.

It was clear to me that Wilmer would benefit from having wonderful people like Ted and Ann on my Wimer Board of Governors, and I will always be grateful that they agreed to serve. For two decades, they have been generous with their advice and never missed one of our meetings or special events, making the long drive from Delaware and back.

The only time I ever questioned Ted’s judgment was when he came to one of our board meetings and gleefully showed me photos of him walking down the side of a gigantic glass and steel skyscraper, rappelling like a soldier in the special forces. That he did this as a challenge to raise funds for a charity should have come as no surprise. We were fortunate to have Ted and his ever-present better half, Ann, join us for our Centennial Gala in June.

Wilmer and the patients we care for lost a great friend when Ted passed away in July.