by David Wiebe
sponsored by Kearney Orthopedic & Sports Medicine
photography courtesy of Diana Dake

Born and raised in South India by Missionary parents. Attended Kodaikanal International School in South India where I had the good fortune to have an excellent art instructor who taught me to look, see, and enjoy both art and all things beautiful. My undergraduate degree was from Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas and my medical degree from the University of Kansas. I was fortunate to be able to spend two years in India at a mission hospital; two in general practice in Colorado and then do my specialty training in orthopedic surgery at Gorgas Hospital in the Canal Zone, before coming to Kearney in 1973.

I have been happily married to Lorma for 48 years and we have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. I have been privileged to assist in orthopedic training programs in a number of African and Asian countries through the years. Painting watercolors has always been a hobby and a necessary release for the stresses of a medical practice. I have found a great deal of pleasure in trying to capture a scene with a brush and am more likely to take my sketch pad and paints with me than a camera.

I call my crane Resurrection Crane.  The announcement of the project coincided with the news we received that Lorma had a recurrence of breast cancer after a 31 year hiatus. I wasn’t going to commit time to such a project at first but after seeing the model Martha Pettigrew had made the concept came immediately to my mind and it was easy to submit a proposal. The base is the world. Rising out from this is the crane but the crane is now a flower, a symbol of new life. And between the petals (wings) is the shadow of the Crucifixion, the ultimate Resurrection.

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David Wiebe – Kearney, Nebraska