Dr. William Finkelstein M.D.

FINKELSTEIN, Dr. William, M.D. Dr. William Finkelstein, M.D., 95, of Jefferson Square, died Tuesday, (May 18, 2004) at St. Mary's Hospital. Dr. Finkelstein was born in Waterbury, Dec. 15, 1908, son of the late Louis and Mary (Syder) Finkelstein and was educated in the Waterbury public school system, where he graduated as valedictorian from Crosby High School, Class of 1925. He received his undergraduate A.B. degree from Harvard College, Class of 1929 and graduated from Harvard Medical School with his medical degree in 1934. He then went on to post graduate studies as a resident in internal medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. He then returned to Waterbury in 1934, serving his patients in the medical community until his retirement at the age of 80. He spent 50 years in practice during which time his illustrious career benefited not only his patients, but doctors who trained at St. Mary's Hospital over the years. He was considered the "dean of internists in his time" and the "father of medical education". He served as chief of medicine, president of the medical staff director of cardiology, director of medical education and chief of staff at St. Mary's Hospital. In 1957, he was president of the Waterbury Medical Association in its centennial year. As a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a board certified internist, his first priority was always to mentor those that came after him in the medical profession. Dr. Finkelstein was a member of the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the Conn. State Medical Society, the New Haven County Medical Society, the American Heart Association and a past president of the Waterbury Medical Association. His philanthropy was well-known. Even during his practice years, he was responsible for scholarships, allowing Waterbury high school students to go on to college, and in more recent years, he had established a nursing scholarship with the Waterbury Foundation, now known as the Connecticut Community Foundation. He more recently supported a scholarship supporting an exchange student from Kazan Medical School in Russia to the St. Mary's Hospital Yale Primary Care residency program. This was established in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Greater Waterbury and Northwestern Connecticut, where he had also established the Dr. William Finkelstein, MD, Fund in 1990. As a result of his endeavors, the William Finkelstein Medical Library as established in his name at St. Mary's Hospital in 1988. The Anderson Boys' Club awarded him the "Humanitarian Service Award" in 1989, and he was the recipient of the "Medical Scientific Award" in 1985 by the Northwestern Connecticut chapter of the American Diabetes Association. In recent years, the William Finkelstein Yearly Lecture series was established in his honor at St. Mary's Hospital. Recently, a research fellowship in his honor was established in the Yale Primary Care Residency Program at St Mary's Hospital. He was a board certified diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and held a fellowship in the American College of Physicians. He served as director of medical education at St. Mary's Hospital from 1948 through 1969. He served as chief of medicine at St. Mary's from 1948 through 1957 and from 1960 through 1968. He was president of the medical staff at St. Mary's in 1953 and served as chief of staff at the hospital from 1957 through 1959 and also served the hospital as director of cardiology. He was on the attending staff at Waterbury Hospital in addition to St. Mary's. He leaves several cousins. Funeral services will be held Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Alderson Funeral Home, of Waterbury, 70 Central Ave. Burial will be in Workman's Circle Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary's Hospital Foundation in care of the Dr. William Finkelstein Library, 56 Franklin St., Waterbury 06706, or to the Jewish Federation of Western Connecticut, Inc., William Finkelstein M.D. Fund, 444 Main St., Southbury, CT 06488, or the Louis, Mary, Rose and Dr. William Finkelstein Scholarship Find, in care of the Connecticut Community Foundation, Inc., 81 West Main St., Waterbury 06702.