Thank you, Denice. I know it’s as hard for you to share this sad news as it is
for us to receive it. I remember Dennis’ infectious excitement and enthusiasm
around digital imaging and its potential and possibilities. He and Steve were
indeed on the forefront of that revolution! Please relay to Dennis and his
family our warmest regards, and our heartfelt thanks for all he did for the OPS
and our profession. He has so much to be proud of, his accomplishments and all
those he taught and helped along the way. The collective thoughts and prayers
of the OPS membership are headed his way!
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 1, 2018, at 2:58 PM, Richard Hackel
<richardhackel@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:richardhackel@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Sorry to hear of Dennis’ declining health, but thank you for keeping us in
touch. I remember when I was at Wake Forest, Marshall and I got to be an early
adopter of digital imaging technology and we worked with Dennis when we bought
an early OIS system. His enthusiasm and dedication to the ethos of quality
imaging and caring for people is something I remember of him from those days.
Please send my kindest regards to he and his wife.
Richard
On Oct 1, 2018, at 2:11 PM, Barsness, Denice
<BarsneD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:BarsneD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness I report that my dear friend
Dennis Makes will soon leave us for other realms unknown. He is resting
comfortably at home with Hospice Care for multiforme Glioblastoma. He has
elected to forgo aggressive intervention , a decision of which his wife and
family support.
Dennis served on the OPS BOD in the mid 80’s and was general chair of the first
Park City Utah midyear meetings.
His friends remember those meetings fondly as we were a much smaller group at
that time, without internet or cell phones, and thus, meetings were a way of
connecting with new and old friends and to share information available no other
convenient way.
I worked with Dennis and others in those early days with the Ophthalmic
Photography Workshops ( OPW ) which was a precursor to the development of OIS (
Ophthalmic Imaging Systems)
Those of us a bit grayer in the hair will remember the early days of ophthalmic
imaging and the rise of digitization of our craft. Building on the shoulders
of giants before them, Dennis Makes and Steve Verdooner brought one of the
first digital fundus cameras , the OIS DS1024 to market in 1989 and received a
patent for this technology in 1990.
I first met Dennis in 1979 when he was an imager at the University of Tucson
and a rep for the AO Docustar! ( a Hand held fundus device utilizing POLAROID!
Film….)
I was a green, 22 year older imager with a broken fundus camera. I barely knew
what a roll of film was! An internal mirror was misaligned and thus all of my
images had extreme astigmatism. Dennis quickly diagnosed the problem, fixed my
old silver body Topcon TRC2!!!!! And my imaging problems were resolved. That
same year I found a wadded up piece of paper in the darkroom advertising this
thing called the “Ophthalmic Photographer’s Society”, with Csaba Martonyi’s
phone number on it. Like a human on an alien planet, I learned there were
others like us “out there” and lifelong mentoring, support and friendship was
born.
I have had the honor and the pleasure to call this man my friend for over 3
decades, as have some of you.
His wife Diana asks NOT to be contact directly during these difficult times.
Those that wish to get a message to her please work through me.
Much sadness, need my tribe at these times….
Denice Barsness, CRA, COMT, CDOS, FOPS
CPMC Dept of Ophthalmology/ The Eye Institute
Ophthalmic Diagnostic Services
711 Van Ness Avenue Suite 250
San Francisco CA 94109
415-600-5781
FAX 415-558-7011
