Thomas Setter, M.D.
Inducted Saturday, September 25, 2004
Thomas Setter graduated from Moorhead High School in 1953. In high school, Setter was involved in numerous activities including senior class president, wrestling team co-captain, Student Council, and the student newspaper. As a senior in high school, Setter was encouraged to apply for a $100 Rotary scholarship. Receiving the scholarship allowed Setter to attend the University of North Dakota. Setter graduated from the University of North Dakota and completed his medical education at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1960.
Setter completed internships and his orthopedic surgery residency in various hospitals in Detroit, Michigan. He worked as an orthopedic surgeon at Setter Orthopedics for 25 years until his retirement in November 1993.
In 1991-92, Setter was the recipient of the Wyeth Ayerst/A.H. Robbins Physician Award for Community Service presented by the Idaho Medical Association. The award recognizes those who are actively engaged in the practice of medicine for their services above and beyond the call of duty.
Setter’s community involvement includes service through Rotary and United Way. Through Rotary he worked to establish a community youth center. He also volunteered to serve as the team physician for Skyline High School for ten years, and he established a nursing scholarship at Eastern Idaho Technical Institute in honor of his parents.
Setter has been active in Rotary International since 1968. Since 1997 he has been a Rotary volunteer traveling to Tanzania to volunteer his medical services and orthopedic skills to those less fortunate. In Tanzania he taught medical students and performed prosthetic surgery, fitting amputees with artificial limbs.
Thomas is married to Shirley Setter. He has six children, Michael, Michele, Stephen, Barbara, Mary and Karen, and 13 grandchildren. He lives in Anthem, Arizona.
Update: Thomas Setter died Feb. 19, 2019.