I knew Harold (Mr. Solan) many years ago. I remember him as a gentle and generous man. My thoughts are with his family.

Harold Solan had a wonderful positive energy and a great smile. His enthusiasm was infectious. He will be missed a lot. My condolences to his family.
From a  former student.

We have lost a true giant in the field of optometry.  My condolences to the Solan family.

Harold had interviewed me for my admission to SUNY-O. I was obviously very nervous and he tried to make me feel very comfortable. I had floundered in school for five years without direction till I finally pulled it together and he commented that anyone that can pull those grades in those courses in one semester certainly is motivated .. I THANK HIM  for looking upon me favorably and seeing something in me others didn't..My condolences to the Solan family..

I am blessed to have had Dr. Solan as my instructor at SUNY College of Optometry.  His love for optometry was infectious and most of all he was an extremely kind, spirited and generous person.  He will be missed.

Dr. Solan. Thankyou for teaching me so much about learning disabilities in general and how visual perception impacts learning.  I am a much much better diagnostician because of you. I also thankyou for your many significant contributions to the scientific literature that validate our role in learning. Finally, I think of all the patients you have helped through direct care or those of us fortunate to be taught by you.

I was deeply saddened to hear that Harold had passed away and I offer my condolences to the Solan family.  Harold was one of my professors at SUNY during the 1980's.  During optometry school I developed an interest in vision and learning and quickly became aware that Harold was the leading expert in this field.  I tried to learn as much as I could from Harold while at SUNY, but I only scratched the surface of his vast knowledge.  When I moved on to California to take a faculty position, Harold become a role model and mentor for me.  He always stayed in touch and helped me complete my master's thesis and guided me on other projects.  What I remember most though is that Harold would always ask about my family and would offer great advice on navigating a career in academia.  I feel truly blessed to have had Harold as a mentor and a friend.

I am sadden to hear about Harold. I was his collegue and friend at the college for a number of years.  He was a gentleman and a scholar and always had a smile.  Shirley and family he will always be in my thoughts and prayers.

John Picarelli, SUNY

Dear Shirley and Family,

So very sorry to learn about your loss. Harold was a wonderful, kind, and gentle man. I'm sure he will be missed by you, the family, and all your friends. My thought go out to you.

I always enjoyed chatting with Harold at the Annual COVD Meetings. His work has inspired our model of vision care for the patients we treat. This is just one more example of his legacy. He will be missed.

To the Family of Dr. Solan,
Harold was an inspiration to me through his many lectures at the Academy of Optometry and COVD. I would always scan the program to see if he was speaking and was delighted when he was.  He was a brilliant and generous man who shared his thoughts and insights with so many of his own patients and hundreds of thousands more who were patients of other doctors like myself who 'sat at his feet' to learn.  I pray that your good memories together will support you through these difficult times ahead.

Dear Shirley,  We have found out about the untimely passing of Harold and we wish you and the children our deepest condolences.  We always remember Harold with much fondness , a sense of humor and a caring nature.  We wish the whole family no more sorrow.
Irma and Howard Reffes,  Toronto, Canada

Harold was a wonderful role model and mentor to me.  His work ethic and energy were unparalleled.  He will truly be missed by me as well as the optometric profession which he dedicated his life's work to.

I've known Harold since the Columbia University Optometry program. His brilliant mind, friendship, and as a colleague have enriched all of us.  Condolences to the Solan family.  He will be long and well remembered

I used tease Harold.  He built a large practice in the Bronx,  so large that he had to sell it to two students instead of one: Irwin Suchoff and Richard Kavner, I believe.  Next he built a practice in New Jersey.  It was so large he, again, had to sell it to two students.  Then he moved to SUNY.  I used to tell him I was afraid that when he left he would sell SUNY to two students.  He liked that.
 
When COVD met at Cancun some years back, Harold was, I believe, 84.  Seeing that the elevator doors were about to close, he charged across the lobby in time to catch his ride.  The charge was not unlike the energy with which he approached life in general. 
 
He was also a very special human being who shared himself in a way that always made me feel special as well.  I will miss his exuberance.

Harold will long be remembered by me and the many people who's lives have been enriched with his brilliant writings, discussions, insight, and dedication to his profession and to his patients. I will always be grateful for Harold taking the time, in his very busy life, to help me find my way, when I was a new SUNY VT Resident. He had a way of making the difficult seem easy...

What fond memories we all have who were blessed to be touched by Harold's grace.  He could be brutally honest, but always with the best of intent.  A mentor to countless of numbers of optometrists and the patients who were the beneficiaries of his insight, wisdom, pioneering methodologies, and caring.  Condolences to the entire Solan family on the loss of a very special man.

OBITUARY

Harold A Solan

November 28, 1921 – June 17, 2012

Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors

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