Dr. Julius WENGER

Family-Placed Death Notice

WENGER, Dr. Julius DR. JULIUS WENGER Dr. Julius Wenger, 88, of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away on August 24, 2013. He was born in Newark, New Jersey on April 17, 1925, the son of the late Abraham and Fanny Wenger and brother of the late Sarah Einstein. He was the devoted husband of 54 years to Dr. Nanette Wenger; loving father of daughters Deborah Wiatrak, Judith Wenger and Beth Wenger; and grandfather of Kevin, Jesse, Juliet and Katherine Wiatrak and Abigail and Molly Beaird. Dr. Wenger served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1948. He attended college at Denison University and graduated from Northwestern University School of Medicine in 1948. He did his internal medicine residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Chicago. He served in the US Public Health Service in Washington, D.C. from 1951 to 1953. In 1956, he was recruited by the Emory University School of Medicine to direct the Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center Division of Digestive Diseases. He was a Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. After 27 years as Assistant Chief of Medicine and Director of Digestive Diseases at the Atlanta VA Hospital, Dr. Wenger joined the staff of Grady Memorial Hospital and the Emory Clinic, where he remained until his retirement in 1996. As Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Dr. Wenger remained active in academic medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Wenger was beloved by his peers, his coworkers, the medical students, residents and fellows whom he trained - and most of all, his patients. Dr. Wenger was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member of the American Gastroenterology Association and the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He served as president of the Georgia Gastroenterologic Society and the Georgia Society for GI Endoscopy. Dr. Wenger served as president of the Georgia chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and received the CCFA Premier Physicians Award. He was active in Ahavath Achim Synagogue, serving as chair of the education committee and in other positions. He was active in the alumni association of the Northwestern University School of Medicine. After his retirement, Dr. Wenger remained a respected gastroenterology consultant. He was a founding member of the Emeritus College of Emory University faculty. He served as president of the Paran Investment Club and as a docent of the Bremen Museum. Dr. Wenger was an enthusiastic amateur historian who loved to read and research history. He enjoyed music and especially opera, and was a decades-long supporter of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He loved travel and traveled extensively throughout the world, having visited every continent but Antarctica. Dr. Wenger is survived by his loving wife Dr. Nanette Wenger; his daughters Deborah Wiatrak (Brian Wiatrak) of Birmingham, Alabama, Judith Wenger (Marty Beaird) of New York, New York and Beth Wenger of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and grandchildren Kevin, Jesse, Juliet and Katherine Wiatrak and Abigail and Molly Beaird. He is also survived by his nieces Tamar Einstein of Jerusalem, Israel; Barbara Marks of Atlanta, Georgia; nephew Joshua Einstein of Portland, Oregon; and his sister-in-law Marsha Marks of Atlanta, Georgia. Funeral services will take place at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Avenue, NW, Atlanta, GA 30327. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery, 1173 Cascade Circle SW, Atlanta, GA 30311. Pallbearers include Marty Beaird, Joshua Einstein, Gary Jackson, Brian Wiatrak, Jesse Wiatrak and Kevin Wiatrak. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Wenger Scholarship Fund of Ahavath Achim Synagogue, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, or Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Sign on-line guest book: www.edressler.com. Arrangements by Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999.