Dr. James G. Diller, 88, a plastic surgeon in Toledo, Ohio, for more than 20 years, died on July 3, 2017.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jean (Miller); daughters, Collette Chattopadhyay, Janelle, Jeanine, and Nicole Diller; a son, Christopher Diller; seven grandchildren, Jacqueline Chattopadhyay, Simca and Luke Bouma, Elena and Celia Diller, James and Grant Murphy; and a sister, Ruth (Diller) Sawyer and a brother, Timothy Diller.
Dr. Diller was born in Bluffton, Ohio, to Clarence and Ruth Diller, and grew up on the family farm. He graduated from Pandora High School as salutatorian, and received a B.A. degree from Wheaton College (Illinois) and M.D. degree from the Ohio State University. He earned a Tropical Medicine certificate in Belgium in 1956 and moved to the Belgian Congo to serve as a government-approved Médecin Agrée until 1960.
Upon his return to Ohio, Dr. Diller completed a residency in general and plastic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and was appointed to the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
He opened the first plastic surgical practice at the Toledo Clinic and served at all Toledo area hospitals from 1966-1985, specializing in trauma surgery. He was chief of staff at Flower Hospital and president of the Academy of Medicine of Toledo and Lucas County.
He retired from medical practice in 1985 and later became a Fellow of the American College of Physician Executives, serving as president and medical director of Northwest Physicians, Inc., and medical director of Aetna in Toledo. Dr. Diller received many public awards in recognition of professional accomplishments and service to others.
Dr. Diller organized and led annual short-term medical missions to Haiti and the Dominican Republic over the next 20 years with teams of up to 80 local-area surgeons and other health care providers. He envisioned and raised seed funding for a clinic in the Dominican Republic to bring state-of-the-art maternal health care and first-ever emergency services to people in the region. The clinic is in its final year of construction.
Visitation is from 4 to 7 p.m., Friday, July 7, at Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Ave. (west of Corey Road),Toledo. Funeral service will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations may go to Solid Rock International “Revolution Campaign” for the clinic in the Dominican Republic.
