Dr. Howard Tucker, a longtime Cleveland Heights neurologist and the Guinness World Records holder for the world’s oldest practicing doctor, has died at age 103, his family confirmed Tuesday.
Born in Cleveland, Tucker attended The Ohio State University College of Medicine before enlisting in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He later served as chief of neurology for the Atlantic Fleet during the Korean War.
After completing his residency at the Cleveland Clinic and additional training at the Neurological Institute of New York, Tucker returned to Cleveland, where he practiced neurology for more than seven decades. He treated patients at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Hillcrest Hospital, and later at St. Vincent Charity Hospital — a position from which he retired only after the hospital closed several years ago.
Tucker’s career spanned a period of dramatic change in medicine. He treated his last active polio patient in 1955, just weeks before the vaccine became widely available.
“Now, you don't see measles, you don't see chickenpox, you don't see scarlet fever, and all the complications of scarlet fever,” Tucker told Ideastream Public Media earlier this year. “You see none of that because children get vaccinated. There's no question vaccines are necessary and should be given to everyone.”
He first rose to national attention in 1960 after solving the medical mystery of the “Sleeping Beauties,” two sisters who stumped doctors because they would fall in and out of comas. Dr. Tucker correctly figured out their mother was secretly dosing them with barbiturates.
In 2021, Tucker gained a new generation of admirers when Guinness World Records recognized him as the world’s oldest practicing physician. Soon after, videos of him sharing health advice went viral on TikTok.
Earlier this year, Tucker reflected on his longevity.
“Heredity, genetics plays one third of it,” he said. “The rest is staying in shape physically and above all, no cigarettes.”
He also credited meaningful work and a supportive marriage.
“You have to be happy in your work too, not only your life outside of work. And then it’s not work,” Tucker said.
Tucker believed emotional health mattered, too.
“Hate hurts you more than the person you hate,” he said. “Your blood pressure goes up, your pulse goes up.”
Tucker took risks in the name of living life to the fullest, pausing his medical career to get a law degree in his 60s and leaving his home against his family's wishes during the COVID-19 pandemic because he was determined to treat his patients.
His grandson, Austin Tucker, helped document his life in the film What’s Next?, which screened at the 2024 Cleveland International Film Festival.
Austin Tucker said the life advice he most took to heart from his grandfather was, “Don’t dwell on the hurdles. Just figure out how you’re gonna get around it.”
In the film, Dr. Tucker said he hoped to be remembered simply as a kind person. Following news of his death, former patients, colleagues and law school classmates shared memories of him online, recalling his helpfulness and warmth.
In a statement, his family said Tucker’s outlook will endure.
“Howard truly defined what it meant to live each day to the fullest,” the statement read. “We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of love from (all those) whose lives he touched.”
