Philip H. Geetter, 68, ophthalmologist

By Walter F. Naedele, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: August 21, 2012

Dr. Philip H. Geetter, 68, of Pipersville, an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon in Sellersville, died Sunday, Aug. 12, of heart failure at an inn in Sag Harbor, N.Y., while on vacation.

Dr. Geetter was president of the medical staff at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville in 1990 and 1991 and president of the Inter-County Ophthalmic Society from 1985 to 1987, his daughter, Courtney Rowe, said.

Born in Hartford, Conn., Dr. Geetter earned a bachelor's degree in biology at Trinity College there in 1965, graduated from Thomas Jefferson University Medical College in 1970, and completed his ophthalmological residency there in 1974.

Dr. Geetter opened his current practice, Bucks-Mont Eye Associates in Sellersville, in 1974, his daughter said. He was a staff member at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and at Grand View.

He was a fellow of the American Implant Society and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, as well as the latter's Pennsylvania chapter. He was a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

"He always had a fondness for insects, and as a child would raise butterflies and moths," his daughter said. As an adult, "he photographed unusual and beautiful insects."

From the 1980s into the 2000s, she said, he owned Wintercreek Farm in Doylestown, where renters ran a horseback riding and training stable.

Besides his daughter, Dr. Geetter is survived by his wife of 42 years, Helene; his father, Nathan; sons Erik, Todd, and Chad; a sister; and three grandchildren.

A visitation was set from 2 p.m. Wednesday at St. Paul's Church, 301 N. Main St., Doylestown, before a 3:30 p.m. memorial service there. Burial is to be private.

Contact Walter F. Naedele

at 215-854-5607 or wnaedele@phillynews.com.