Dr. Barry T. Held

1931 - 2014

Dr. Barry T. Held died Oct. 6, 2014, at home with his loving family around him.  He was the beloved husband of Melinda (Sweet) Held.
Barry was born Nov. 5, 1931, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the son of the late Tillie (Taylor) and Julius Held.
He graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, and the State University of New York (Downstate) Medical School in 1956. Dr. Held did additional fellowship training at Yale University School of Medicine, embarking on a long, distinguished medical and academic career.
An appointment to the radiology staff at Roosevelt Hospital in 1962 was followed by his nomination as chairman of the radiology department at Booth Memorial Hospital in Queens, NY in 1966, (now New York Hospital) a position he maintained to 1992. He thus became the youngest appointed chairman of a major radiology department in the United States. And as such, Barry Held achieved senior clinical faculty rank in radiology at both New York University Medical Center and Weill Cornell University Medical College in New York city.
In his long professional career, Dr. Held served the American College of Radiology as National Advisor for Accreditation and Standards of Radiologic Care to hospitals and institutions. He is also past president of the New York Roentgen Society and former member of the National Board of Medical Examiners and American Board of Radiology.
In addition to serving his specialty, Dr. Held had a major educational impact training at least one generation of younger radiologists during his long career. Mentoring young physicians by example, imparting his wisdom gently and effectively, insisting on the highest ethical standards, Barry encouraged best practices and humane values by his students.
Dr. Held and his wife, Melinda, are 30-year residents of Sharon CT. And since 2000 they have enjoyed the home they built together in Sheridan Wyoming on the Bird Farm Road.
As an amateur photographer since his late teens, his camera was never far from hand. His travel photography included destinations such as Antarctica in 2009 with the Hotchkiss School Expedition to Antarctica. His love of photography was greatly enhanced when he served on the Yellowstone Foundation Board with his wife Melinda.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Patricia Grunebaum and her husband, his daughter-in-law Sharon; stepdaughter, Elizabeth Dowling, and her husband, a stepson, Howard Clinton Sweet and his wife, and seven grandchildren, Sebastian, Annabel and Charlotte Grunebaum, Emily and Grace Dowling and Adam and Lila Sweet; he was predeceased by his son, James.
Contributions in his honor may be made to the Salisbury Visiting Nurses Association, Salisbury CT.
This obituary was originally published in The Sheridan Press (Sheridan, WY).