In Memoriam: Lester James Sabolich

Lester James Sabolich, CPO, founder of Sabolich Prosthetic and Research Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, passed away on December 10, 2010. He was 89.

Sabolich was born in Ft. Reno, Oklahoma, to John (Ivan) Sabolich and Mary Vaughn Sabolich (later Kurk) on March 28, 1921. His father was an immigrant from Croatia and his mother was of Cherokee descent.

At the age of 18, Sabolich began working for an orthotist in Oklahoma City, beginning a trade that would be the foundation of four generations of the Sabolich family. He then worked at the Oklahoma City University Hospitals’ Orthotic Lab, where he was taught patient care and more advanced techniques. While working at the hospital, he met a young nursing aide, Lorene Estelle Wilkerson, who would later become his wife.

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army at the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based military hospital. During his Army service, he was taken to the top-secret Los Alamos base to fit Robert Oppenheimer, lead scientist on the Manhattan Project, with a back brace.

In 1946, with the help of his wife, he founded Sabolich Prosthetics in Oklahoma City. He was a founding member of the American Board of Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics (ABC), and the 11th person to be certified in prosthetics. He retired from Sabolich Prosthetics in 1994 to work on other business interests.

Sabolich is survived by his wife of 69 years, Lorene; sister, Gloria Puckett (Jack); step sister Doris Colson; two children, Carole Sabolich Tiemann (Carl) and John Alan Sabolich (Lee); five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren, all of who reside in the Oklahoma City area.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Limbs for Life Foundation, 5929 N. May, Suite 511, Oklahoma City, OK 73112; or the Oklahoma Alzheimer’s Association, 6465 S. Yale, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74136.