William S. Rachlin

RACHLIN, Dr. William S. Dr. William S. Rachlin, of Brookline, MA, died peacefully on Wednesday (April 8, 2009) at the Briarwood Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Needham, MA. Bill was the cherished husband of the late Joy (Barron) Rachlin, the devoted father of Faye Rachlin and her husband Gary Richards of East Hartford and Margo Gray and her husband John of Canton, MA, the adoring grandfather of Rachel and Shira and the loving brother of Joseph Rachlin and his wife Rosalind of West Hartford and Paula (Rachlin) Gottesman and her husband Jerome of Morristown, NJ. Bill, the son of the late Irving I. Rachlin and Rose (Saxe) Rachlin, was born on May 13, 1929, in Hartford and was raised in New Britain where he attended the public schools. He graduated Princeton University's three-year accelerated program in 1948 and entered Harvard Medical School at the age of 19 from which he received his M.D. Following his residency in surgery at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, MA, he received a commission in the United States Air Force in which he served for two years as the chief of surgery on the Warner-Robins Air force base in Georgia. After his military service he returned to Boston to start his surgical practice at the Beth Israel Hospital and became an instructor in surgery at Harvard Medical School. He also served as the chief of surgery at Revere Memorial Hospital and worked at several other hospitals in the Boston area. Bill was a proud member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons and the Temple Israel Brotherhood. He served as president of the Norfolk District Medical Society, which named him its 2002 Community Clinician of the Year. Following retirement at the stroke of the new millennium, Bill became a volunteer science teacher in several middle schools in the Boston area. He also taught several courses on scientific and medical subjects at the lifelong learning institutes at Brandeis University and Regis College. Bill was a meticulous scientist and a graceful poet. Services will be held at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, (parking on the Riverway) on Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m. Burial in Sharon Memorial Park. Memorial observance at his late residence following the burial until 8:30 p.m. and continuing Monday 1-4 and 6:30-9 p.m. Donations in Bill's memory would be appreciated to THE BOLLI Endowment Fund, Brandeis University, P.O. Box 549110, MS 126, Waltham, MA 02454-9110; to the William and Joy Rachlin Bookshelf at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02215; or to the Chai Society of Beth El Temple of West Hartford, 2626 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117. Levine Chapels, 470 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA 02446, 617-277-8300.