C. Bland Giddings

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Contents

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Overview

C. Bland Giddings, a BYU alumnus, has achieved the high honors in both the medical and the musical fields, pioneering in the research and use of nuclear medicine and performing with multiple symphonies.

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Early Life

Giddings was born on December 28, 1915 to Luther and Berneice (Crandall) Giddings. He was born in American Fork, Utah and resided there throughout his childhood and teenage years.

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Education

During the struggling years of the Great Depression, Giddings completed his high school education, graduating from American Fork High School in 1934.

He then went on to pursue a college education, graduating from BYU in 1938 magna cum laude, with a degree in chemistry, pre-medicine emphasis.

Giddings cherished his time at BYU, during a time when there were roughly 3,000 students on campus. While at BYU, he became very involved in campus activities and studied music under Leroy J. Robertson, performing with the orchestra for four years. Giddings recalls how during that time, Robertson demanded the utmost detail from his students, and introduced them to the classical works of Beethoven. Giddings has always felt that every student who has an opportunity to attend BYU should take full advantage of it.

Giddings completed advanced degrees in chemistry and medicine in Ohio, receiving a PhD at the University of Cincinnati in 1943 and his MD at the University of Cincinnati in 1947.

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Career

Giddings began his medical career at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana and Oak Ridge, Tennessee where he completed his residency and board certification for pathology and nuclear medicine.

Following his schooling, Giddings devoted himself to military service and eventually settled in Idaho Falls, Idaho, working at the LDS Hospital there. However, citing the fact that he “could not grow bananas there’’ Giddings left Idaho to make his permanent home in Mesa, Arizona.

Upon moving to Mesa, Giddings made significant contributions in medicine and music. In 1957, along with five other associates, Giddings founded the Mesa Symphony Orchestra. In 1959 Giddings established the first nuclear medicine facility in Arizona.

Throughout the following decades, Giddings continued to have a serious impact upon his community, founding the Mesa Fine Arts Association (now Mesa Symphony Orchestra Association) and co-founding the Arizona Cello Society in 1969 and the San Marcos Symphony in 1989.

In 1972, Giddings was honored as the Artist of the Year in Mesa, Arizona for his cello performances. He has also been presented with the Distinguished Service Award from the San Marcos Symphony Association, and has been honored to perform with multiple symphonies and orchestras. In 2005, at the age of 90, Giddings was still performing with the Mesa Symphony Orchestra.

Medically, Giddings published several pioneering articles in the areas of clinical pathology and nuclear medicine and has used his position as a doctor to push for policy reform, especially with regards to alcohol and cigarettes.

His contributions to music and medicine left a lasting legacy and in March 2008 the Chandler Symphony Orchestra in Arizona dedicated an entire concert to Giddings and invited him to perform with them for the last time.

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Personal & Family Life

In 1952, Giddings married Elizabeth Kiefer of Long Island, New York. Together they had two sons, Dr. Luther Val Giddings and Thomas Giddings. Elizabeth passed away in 1971 and in 1973, Giddings married an old friend from BYU, Lucile Layton.

Layton had graduated from BYU in 1940, and pursued an advanced degree, receiving her PhD from Texas Woman’s University in 1960. Later, Layton again returned to school, receiving an MS from Utah State University in 1995.

Since retirement, Giddings has devoted himself to capturing the history of his childhood home and that of his family. His publications include several books on his family history, and a two-volume history of American Fork, Utah.

Giddings has been recognized by American Fork High School, and is included on their wall of fame. He also has established a scholarship, named after his father, to recognize outstanding science students from American Fork, providing special priority to students who would not be able to obtain a college education otherwise.

Ingrid Fuhriman, former admissions advisor at BYU, said of Giddings, “Rarely has a man contributed so much in so many different ways to the greater community and to the reputation of Brigham Young University.”

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References

Retrieved from "http://history.cfac.byu.edu/index.php/C._Bland_Giddings"