Ulrich Bauer M.D.

Bauer, Ulrich, MD

A compassionate physician and devoted Army Reserve officer, passed away peacefully, leaving behind a legacy of service, resilience, and care. Born in Vienna, Austria, on March 5, 1933, his early life was marked by extraordinary courage amid one of history's darkest moments. During Kristallnacht, he and his mother, Grete, hid in a field while his father, Dr. Paul Bauernfreund (who in 1948 shortened the family name to Bauer), was arrested and sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp. After his father's release, the family had only days to leave Austria. They took refuge in the Lloyd Refugee Hotel in Holland before receiving affidavits of support from distant relatives in the United States. In October 1939, they endured a rough voyage in steerage and arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey. The family first settled on Manhattan's Upper West Side, then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later, when his father obtained his New York State medical license, to the small village of Brocton, New York, population 1,300. Ulrich completed grade school and high school there before attending the University of Buffalo as an undergraduate. He went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Basel in Switzerland, where he met his first wife, Ruth C. Bauer (née Weil). Dr. Bauer established his own medical practice in Cheektowaga in 1963, providing primary and pediatric care alongside specialty services in allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology. In addition, he served fifteen years as a public health physician at the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Hospital Services, and influenced thousands of physicians as an associate clinical professor at the State University of Buffalo School of Medicine. He served in the United States Army from 1962–1968 and again from 1980–1997, including as division surgeon for the 42nd Mechanized Infantry Division from 1991–1997. During Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990–1991, he served as a Preventive Medicine Officer. He retired with the rank of colonel. Dr. Bauer was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Ruth C. Bauer (née Weil). He is survived by his wife, Susan Brown; his sons Alan (Aimee), Daniel (Anthony Tye), and Andrew (Jessica) Bauer; his sister, Suzanne Miller; his nieces, Pnina Miller and Tamara Miller Connell; and his grandchildren, Benjamin, Nathan, Aislinn, Samantha (Anthony Kadel), and Matthew Bauer. He is also survived by the Brown family: Adam, Tamara, and Jeremy (Rachel), and his extended family in Basel, Switzerland, and Israel. The family extends heartfelt thanks to Dr. Bauer's devoted home health aide, Florserpida Santos, for the exceptional care she provided in his final days. Donations in his memory may be made to the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous at jfr.org.