Our Doctors
Dr. Joseph Grasso is a 1975 graduate of Illinois College of Optometry. Upon graduation he married his wife Bernice E. Fitzgerald in Chicago and immediately left to serve four years in the Army as an optometrist. He served the entire tour with the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. After his daughter Kerrie and son Bud were born, Dr. Grasso and his family moved to Pinckneyville, Illinois and started private practice.
Dr. Grasso seeks to further his education by regularly attending classes and seminars about ocular pathology and pharmacology. Dr. Grasso has the utmost concern for his patients' eye health and well being. His thorough and gentle approach is appreciated by all his patients of all ages.
In addition to private practice, Dr. Grasso has also served his country by remaining in the Army and then Air Force Reserve until his retirement from the military in 2008. This allows Dr. Grasso and Bunny to spend more time with their young grandson Evan.
Dr. Lawrence Soellner is a 1990 graduate of Indiana University School of Optometry. His education began as a passion for vision research and neurophysiology at Purdue University. He continues that calling to better understand the human eye and vision system by attending many advanced courses in ocular pathology, especially glaucoma. He also participates in investigative clinical trials for new innovative contact lenses, most recently a new gas permeable, simultaneous viewing bifocal. He continues to expand his fitting experiences within the very specialized category of "medically necessary contacts". These unique cases have no other option for clear vision outside of very customized contact designs or materials.
Dr. Soellner is active in many community and service organizations and has held offices in most. He has also volunteered time for his profession by serving on Illinois Optometric Association's executive committee. He is also an active member of the American Optometric Association.
Most of Dr. Soellner's free time is spent enjoying family experiences with his wife and three children but if time permits you may find him tooling about the local lakes in his antique wooden Chris Craft.
Dr. Carolyn Gibson graduated from the University of Missouri School of Optometry in 1995. Dr. Gibson also completed a hospital based residency at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tacoma, WA for ocular disease and low vision rehabilitation. During her time there she enjoyed working with veterans and was able to help them manage their vision problems from diagnosis and treatment to providing them with magnifying devices to better enable them to function in their tasks of daily living. At Southern Illinois Eyecare, Dr. Gibson provides comprehensive family eyecare with a continued emphasis on ocular disease, such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy. She continually updates her knowledge of the many technological and medical advances made in both the treatment and diagnosis of these eye diseases and is often an invited speaker for community presentations on the aging eye.
Dr. Gibson is a member of the American Optometric Association, past president of the Southern Illinois Optometric Society and is involved in Rotary International and Girl Scouts. She also enjoys a busy family life with her husband and two children.
Dr. Christine Lochhead is a 2001 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Optometry. She has, however, been in the field of optometry since the age of 19 when she worked for an optometric practice serving the community of Highland, Illinois. Dr. Lochhead feels that the experiences learned as a receptionist, technician and optician helped prepare her to better serve her patients as their eye care provider.
Dr. Lochhead continually strives to further her knowledge of her chosen profession. She has completed multiple courses in various topics such as ocular pharmacology, ocular pathology, glaucoma, vision therapy and children and infant's vision. Dr. Lochhead believes in sharing this education with her patients and encourages them to partner with her in fulfilling their eye care needs.
Dr. Lochhead offers family eye care for all ages, including small children and infants. She has also spent time working with young patients that have reading difficulties due to vision problems.
In her free time, Dr. Lochhead and her husband enjoy many activities with their two children.