Two of the area’s most dedicated eye doctors were greeted with hugs, tears and lots of laughter as they retired on back-to-back days this past week.
Dr. Tom Mihok, a longtime Lions Club member and local optometrist has worked in Oakdale for more than 48 years. Dr. Lee Scaief, also an optometrist, is a Rotarian and one of the founders of the Oakdale Testicle Festival who has served the Oakdale community for more than 50 years. The two, at their respective practices in town, said their fond farewells to the many folks that came out to honor them.
Family Vision Care, once owned and operated by Dr. Mihok, will continue to serve the community with Dr. James Winnick and the team now carrying the proverbial torch and continuing to treat patients with the same level of care and expertise that Dr. Mihok was known for.
As Oakdale Mayor Cher Bairos and her team came to congratulate Dr. Mihok on his retirement, he exclaimed, “Oh, jeez! This is over the top, I am overwhelmed. I didn’t know anyone was going to do anything.”
Dr. Mihok went on to elaborate on his more than 40 years working in Oakdale.
“It’s been an exciting adventure and it definitely keeps me young,” he said.
Now, he is looking forward to spending more time with his family and traveling to the Philippines in the near future. He continued on, noting that although he is retiring, his patients and staff will continue to see him now and then as he will be covering for Dr. Winnick when he takes vacation time so even though this is goodbye for now, it is not goodbye forever.
Dr. Scaief, of Oak Valley Optometric, shared many of his nuggets of wisdom and humor with everyone as he explained the secret of his success.
“If you can’t have fun doing what you’re doing, don’t do it,” he said simply.
As he shared some laughs, he reminded everyone that, “It’s been a wild ride and that’s why I have never experienced burn out, there is nothing routine about this.”
Patsy Hite and Norma Varrati, longtime patients of Dr. Scaief’s, said that it was worth the extra travel time from Modesto to see him because he really cares about each and every patient, with Varrati noting that when she needed a new and innovative solution to add bifocals to her glasses, Dr. Scaief came up with a way to position the bifocals at the tops of the lenses instead of at the bottom, which greatly improved her visibility.
As he looked around the room at those joining with him to celebrate his retirement, Dr. Scaief summed up his long and eventful career in The Cowboy Capital of the World by noting that, “I have loved it. Oakdale people are just special people.”
