Marriage and Family
- In his early 40’s, he married Grace Revere Gross, great granddaughter of the freedom rider Paul Revere and widow of Dr. Samuel Gross, the renowned surgeon and historic medical figure of the latter 1800’s
- Grace was a very capable homemaker and under her stewardship, their home became a meeting place for medical students, house officers, literati, visiting professors, and other dignitaries. At Oxford their home was known as the “Open Arms”, signifying its special place in the hearts of thousands of people who visited from all over the world
- The Oslers had one child, named Revere, “a son of his old age”, who he would refer to as “my Isaac” in reference to the name that the Patriarch Abraham gave to the son of his “old age”.
- Father and son shared a love of books, the arts and the outdoors. Caught up in the pride of service to one’s country, Revere voluntarily requested service as an infantryman in WWI and was tragically wounded in a mortar attack near France in 1917. Stationed not too far away, was the great American surgeon, Harvey Cushing who was rushed to his bedside. Cushing, a long-time friend of the Oslers, had known Revere since childhood, having even “bounced the lad on his knee.” Unfortunately he could do little to save Revere from his mortal wounds except provide comfort to him during his final hours. Although heartbroken at the loss of their only child, the Oslers found some consolation that at least Cushing was with him at the end.
