Victor Doval Gonzalez

1955 - 2019

Victor Doval Gonzalez, an accomplished and compassionate physician who often treated low-income patients at no cost, died on June 16, 2019, after a brief illness. He was 63. Dr. Gonzalez was a devoted father, an enthusiastic golfer, and a gifted musician. He was passionate about sailing and had a collection of boats, some of which actually floated. He shared his love of the water with his three sons, who were his guiding stars. Natty is the adjective to use when describing his style of dress. At gatherings where friends wore sport shirts and chinos, he wore a suit, frequently a three-piece one, even in the summer. Underneath that formal appearance was a thoughtful listener who was consistently courteous and kind. Quite simply, he dressed like the gentleman he was. He was born on July 6, 1955, in New Orleans, and graduated from Jesuit High School where he was a member of the tennis team and the glee club. He graduated with honors from Columbia University in the City of New York in 1977. His concentration as a freshman and sophomore was music composition. In his junior year, inspired by his physician father, he switched to pre-med. "Vic had too many endearing qualities to fully recount," said Blaine Lecesne, Dr. Gonzalez's close friend since eighth grade and his college roommate. "His adventurism, unmatched intellect, joyously irreverent humor, insatiable curiosity, and infectious eccentricity are but a few. But the quality I will most sorely miss is that Vic was simply the sweetest soul I've ever known. He spoke from a heart brimming with compassion and humility. He spoke without pretense or the social filters that mask who we really are. When he spoke, your ears were inexorably drawn to his words and the unique insight they rendered. When remembering Vic, the worn euphemism 'he would give you the shirt off his back' comes to mind, but his unending generosity transcends that saying. Empathy and the well-being of others drove his every action, and I recall Vic regularly parting with a shirt or two." "Vic was always someone that we 'wanted to be with,' since high school almost 50 years ago," said lifelong friend Larry Blake. "Whether it was vacationing on the beach in Florida, sailing on Lake Pontchartrain, or going to a movie on Christmas night, Vic was always there, in his insanely generous, self-effacing manner." Dr. Gonzalez graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1982. He did his residency in psychiatry and was a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Fellow at Tulane where he helped children and teenagers who were hospitalized. He also provided psychiatric and medical care for patients at the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital in exchange for on-campus housing, which was the only way NOAH could be financially sustained. He received his board certification in psychiatry and continued his training in analysis at the New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute, which is now the New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center. "Vic was exceptionally gifted and could learn whatever he set his mind to," said Dr. Ralph Chester, his colleague at NOAH. In 1988, he moved to Houma and went into private practice. His focus was child psychiatry. He was a member of the Ellendale Country Club. Even though Dr. Gonzalez lived in Houma for 31 years, he never stopped loving New Orleans. One of his mother's fondest memories is attending Mass with him at St. Patrick's. "He loved hearing the Mass in Latin and the music," she said. Dr. Gonzalez is survived by two sons, Victor Michael Gonzalez of Tavares, Fla., and Stephen Alexander Gonzalez of Houma; his mother, Margaret Madere Gonzalez of New Orleans; his brother, Guy Stephen Gonzalez of New Orleans; his sister, Irene Gonzalez Cerise of New Orleans; and three nieces and two nephews. He is preceded in death by his son, David Brommeland Gonzalez of Houma, and his father, Dr. Remigio Gonzalez of New Orleans. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the visitation at 10 a.m., Saturday, August 10, 2019, at St. Angela Merici Church in Metairie, La., followed by a funeral Mass, officiated by the Rev. Beau Charbonnet, at noon. Instead of flowers, help someone in need. That's what Dr. Gonzalez would want.