Milton Gurvitz

1919 - 2019

Gurvitz, Milton
Nov. 29, 1919 - Oct. 16, 2019
Milton Solomon Gurvitz, a psychoanalyst whose practices in New York and Florida helped expand access to psychotherapy to working people, died on October 16 in Sarasota, Fla. He was 99.
Born to Isador and Rebecca Gurvitz, Jewish immigrants from Russia, in Buffalo, N.Y., Milt joined the U.S. Public Health Service when poor eyesight kept him from serving in the military during World War II. During this time, he worked with Dr. Robert Lindner, a pioneer of intelligence testing. The army fitness tests they worked on together are the basis of those still used today. Milt went on to earn his Ph.D. from New York University and publish a book, "The Dynamics of Psychological Testing," in 1950. He founded and ran the Great Neck Consultation Center, a clinic for middle-income people, from 1960 to 1985, and he worked in private practice in Sarasota, for more than two decades. A diplomate and examiner for the American Board of Professional Psychology, Milt was featured in Who's Who of America in 1998. He never truly stopped working: Milt, or "Dr. G." as many called him, served as an informal counselor to people he encountered throughout his life, even after his official retirement.
A voracious reader, Milt was a lifelong student of history. The Civil War was his favorite topic, especially the Jews of the antebellum South. He worked as an informal lecturer at the Sarasota Public Library and played poker with Sarasota's most prominent writers during weekly Liars Club lunches. In his last years, even as his vision faded, he continued to follow the news by listening to an audio version of the New York Times. The talking books service from the Lighthouse of Manasota also fed his insatiable appetite for reading.
Milt and his wife, Sylvia (Suzie), a military nurse in World War II, were married in 1948 and celebrated their 60th anniversary before her death in 2008. He is survived by his daughter Lynda; his grandchildren Sarah, Benjamin, Eric and Shayna; and his brother Leonard. He is preceded in death by his wife, Suzie, and their son, Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Gurvitz.
His family would like to thank the staff of Aviva for taking such good care of him in his final years.