DONALD BRODY

BRODY--Donald.

Donald Charles Brody, loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and brother, died peacefully June 17, just shy of age 85. His health had deteriorated over several years, partly from a brain hemorrhage that followed a fall. Brody, a 43-year Teaneck, NJ, resident recently of Fort Lee, was the devoted husband of 61 years to Lucy Laventhol; father of Mark, Jean, Ann and Andrew; and brother to Lucille Stein, all of whom survive him. He retired in 1996 as Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, where he was an anesthesiologist for over 30 years. Don Brody was born June 21, 1931 in Brooklyn to Harry and Dora (nee Klorman) Brody, Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran a children's clothing store. Brody's natural intellect together with an aversion for laboring in the store propelled him to become an outstanding student. In 1948 he graduated as valedictorian from Long Island's Freeport High School, one of many schools he attended as his family often moved to pursue more affordable housing and retail space. He earned a scholarship to Harvard (class of '52) and attended Boston University School of Medicine ('56). Brody deeply appreciated the opportunities his education afforded him, a value he passed on to his children and grandchildren. The young medical student met his future wife, a Pembroke graduate working as a reporter for the Warwick (RI) Beacon, on a blind date. The marriage would last six decades, despite the infamous three-hour wedding delay, when Brody's car broke down near Baltimore en route from Boston to the ceremony at the bride's parents' house in Washington D.C. A sympathetic taxi driver declared, "I always wanted to go to Washington!" and drove the stranded groom and his parents the rest of the way, but only after picking up a nephew to join the adventure, plus a policeman who came aboard to give directions. After completing his internship at Philadelphia General Hospital and residency at Columbia, Brody joined the U.S. Army at the rank of captain and served at the base in Fort Ord, CA. Despite a flirtation with settling in California, the family moved back East, first to Riverdale, the Bronx; next to Upper Saddle River, NJ; and finally settling in Teaneck. Brody's family knew him as an avid reader of history, a fan of opera and theater and a lover of the outdoors - including hiking, camping and ski trips with the kids and long-distance bike rides. He was also an aggrieved NY Giants fan, and, in retirement, an avid oil painter. Colleagues and the generations of anesthesia residents he mentored knew him as a careful, compassionate practitioner, a patient teacher and a level-headed, stalwart coworker and leader. In addition to his immediate family, including spouses Samantha, Louis, Paul and Coleen, he is survived by seven grandchildren - Zoe, Lian, Nathan, Laena, Aviva, Jude and Eliya - and a loving extended family.