Michael Gilman, M64 and Deborah Gilman, M64
Michael, M64, A87P, A92P, and Deborah Gilman, M64, A87P, A92P, arrived at TUSM in 1960 with a piece of information they preferred to keep under wraps: they were newlyweds. “I took my engagement ring off for my interview,” says Debbie. “In those days, a woman might not have gotten into medical school if she were engaged.”
The Gilmans studied together at Tufts, then did their residencies at Yale, Debbie in psychiatry and Mike in ophthalmology. After moving to Seattle and then D.C., they eventually settled in Springfield, Massachusetts, with their four children. Today they live in Phoenix, where Mike is a docent and president of Volunteers in the Garden at the Desert Botanical Garden and Debbie is involved with the Volunteer Nonprofit Service Association’s annual book sale.
Mike and Debbie have included a charitable bequest for the medical school in their wills. “Tufts gave us a unique chance to go to medical school together,” says Mike. “We wanted to say thank you.”