NEW FREEDOM, Pa.--It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of William Joseph Solomon VMD who died peacefully on May 5, at the age of 84.
Dr. SolomonDr. Solomon was born on Jan. 20, 1942, the youngest of four siblings.
He grew up in Johnstown, Pa., where he attended Catholic school, played baseball and basketball, and closely followed Notre Dame football.
In 1956, when he was 14, the family moved to Gettysburg to a beautiful farm with a stone home that had been a Civil War hospital.
The family raised Arabian horses and during these years Dr. Solomon developed a deep love for horses and farm life.
He and his siblings played ice hockey on the pond and went pheasant hunting with his favorite dog, Katie.
He attended Delone Catholic High School and then Georgetown University, where he was a pre-med student, played varsity baseball, and made lifelong friends.
After Georgetown, Dr.Solomon pursued his love of animals and farming at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School.
After he completed his veterinary training and served as the resident veterinarian at distinguished farms in both Kentucky and Pennsylvania, he movedto New Freedom, Pa., and started what would become both the great work and love of his life: Pin Oak Lane Farm and Equine Clinic.
WITH Pin Oak Lane, he found both great professional success and great joy.
Among other accomplishments, he held the rare distinction of nurturing top horses in both the thoroughbred and standardbred industries, including both a Kentucky Derby winner and a Hambletonian winner.
He loved his dogs, the horses, the birds, the flowers and trees, and particularly loved working with and inspiring young veterinarians and other young people who came to work on the farm.
He taught his grandchildren how to fill the bird feeders, debate sports, and to love the animals.
Over Dr. Solomon’s 53 years at Pin Oak Lane, the farm became a landmark, and he became a well-known elder statesman.
It was impossible to go to a restaurant without someone approaching him to introduce themselves as someone who had worked for him on the farm as a teenager.
Dr. Solomon was always ready to give a leg up to a young person who wanted to work and had an interest in horses or farm life.
He also served on multiple state, national and international veterinary and agricultural commissions.
Among other things, he helped draft the first zoning ordinance to protect farmland in his area and traveled to Russia as part of an agricultural delegation.
Dr. Solomon knew how to do just about everything, and he generously shared his knowledge through his leadership and through his signature “tips”.
As a parent and grandparent, he emphasized education, family, faith, and a love of nature.
He encouraged everyone to “do the hard math problems,” loved decorating for Christmas and making Lebanese meat pies, and had an abiding Catholic faith.
He was loved and will be missed by the many people whose lives he touched.
He is survived by his daughter, Tricia Schuster (Dave); his son, Chris Solomon (Callie); his granddaughters, Emily, Abby and Eliza; his grandsons, Declan, Caelan and Ayden; and by his sister, Mary McAlindon, and his brother, Paul Solomon.
He was predeceased by his parents, S.D. and Genevieve Solomon, and his brother Michael.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Delone Catholic High School in honor of William J. Solomon. 140 S. Oxford Ave, McSherrystown, PA 17344.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, May 22, at 11 a.m. (viewing 10 a.m.) at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, in the old church at the bottom of the hill, 315 N. Constitution Ave, New Freedom, PA 17349.
