They came from as far away as Ohio and Oregon to remember the biology professor who helped get them into medical school. A letter of reference from premed advisor Tom Bahler was worth more than a high score on the MCAT.

Once a year for the past two years, former students of retired Professor Tom Bahler have met in Salt Lake City to express their gratitude and to support the scholarship named in his honor. This was the first gathering without Bahler, who died unexpectedly on Feb. 16, 2004.

The memories were as vivid as if he were still around and in command at the podium. Recalled Gerald Mortimer '67, an obstetrician in Idaho Falls, Idaho, "His door was always open. You weren't just another face in the crowd. He remembered you and your grade long after your graduation."

Perhaps it was his small-town, Midwestern values that made him such a personable, caring professor. Bahler grew up in Walnut Creek, Ohio, which was populated equally by farmers and Amish families. In high school Bahler made house calls with his Uncle Clarence, the only doctor in town, and helped deliver babies. Although he never went to medical school himself, he earned a reputation in Utah for producing the best-prepared medical school applicants in the state.

"He was incredibly demanding but scrupulously fair," said gastroenterologist Lawrence Gates '82, who came all the way from Salem, Oregon, to attend the event. "Even the people he failed loved him. He wanted us to succeed but he wouldn't compromise his standards."

"He'd put his arm around you and say, "You need to get that cell biology grade up,'" said Christon Merkley '76, a family practitioner in Layton, Utah.

Gates didn't realize how well-prepared he was until he was accepted by the medical school at Duke University. He was one of the few first-year medical students who tested out of histology. "Dr. Bahler's class was more challenging and better taught."

Bahler was legendary for the clarity and thoroughness of his lectures. Keynote speaker John Nelson '65, the third Aggie to serve as president of the American Medical Association, said, "I learned more in his physiology class than in my entire time at Utah State University."

Bahler was as dedicated a musician as he was a teacher. He practiced the organ nearly every day so he could sound soaring notes at church and played bridge several times a week.

In his remarks, son David, a University of Utah Hospital pathologist, said his father was grateful for having outlived all his relatives by 20 years. "Most of his relatives died in their sixties of heart attacks."

Tom Bahler made it to 84 and died at home.

"There are worse ways to go. He had a good life," said his son. - Jane Koerner