Dr. Charles Benjamin Witt Jr.

1929 - 2019

March 17, 1929 - April 26, 2019 Dr. Charles Benjamin Witt, jr. was laid to rest yesterday at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in the Court of Liberty. It was a fitting place for the second cousin, six generations removed, of President George Washington. He will remain in the shadow of a large statue of Washington as General of the Revolutionary War forces. Dr. Witt served two terms as President-General of the 'National Society of Washington Family Descendants', as President of the Western Region for the 'Sons of the Revolution' and other historical societies. Dr. Witt was a renowned thoracic surgeon and a concert pianist. He was born in Washington, D.C, grew up near Knoxville, Tennessee and graduated from the University of Tennessee Medical School in 1951 at the age of 22. He served his country in the US Army Medical Corps during the Korean Conflict and was the youngest doctor in a M.A.S.H. unit at the time. After leaving the Army, Dr. Witt moved to Los Angeles completing his residency in General Surgery at the California Lutheran Hospital in downtown Los Angeles, followed by a residency in Thoracic Surgery at UCLA. It was during his residency that Dr. Witt met his wife, Colette, whom he married in June, 1956. Dr. Witt established his medical practice in the Mid-Wilshire district and practiced medicine for 60 years in Los Angeles. He served as Surgery Department Chairs at the Good Samaritan Hospital and as Chief of the Thoracic Surgery and Surgery Departments at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. He was a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Thoracic Surgeons and the Los Angeles Surgical Society. He concluded his private practice in Hancock Park. In 1975, Dr. Witt performed the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto with the Los Angeles Doctors Symphony Orchestra at Ambassador College Auditorium in Pasadena. He was an accomplished church organist in both Tennessee and Southern California. Dr. Witt also conducted a 50-member US Army soldiers choir during his service in Korea. His devotion to his family, his music, and the care of his patients, remains his enduring legacy. Dr. Witt leaves behind his wife of nearly 63 years, Colette, twin sisters Rosemary and Ruthmary, his three children Charles, Alexandra and Walter, and seven grandchildren.