Edgar Lichstein

1936 - 2021
LICHSTEIN -- Edgar, of Scarsdale, NY, passed away peacefully on May 12. He was 84. He is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Marilyn, daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Scott Rompala, of Scarsdale, NY, their children Nell, Tayt, Ryen and Jake, and son and daughter-in-law, Adam Lichstein and Becky Friedman, of Brooklyn, NY, and their children Ellis and Will.

For the last 60 years, Ed dedicated himself to the care of patients and the advancement of medicine as a physician, researcher and teacher. Born in New York City, Ed attended Bronx High School of Science, Columbia University and SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine training at Lenox Hill Hospital, a Cardiology Fellowship at NYU and served as Captain and Chief Cardiologist at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

After serving as Director of Cardiology at Elmhurst Hospital, Ed joined Maimonides Medical Center in 1976 and was given a mandate to develop its Cardiology Division. As Chief of Cardiology, he staffed the division with its first full-time faculty, building one of the country's top cardiac institutes. From 1989 until 2012, he served as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Maimonides. Ed was recognized by Maimonides for recruiting outstanding healthcare professionals and implementing best practices to ensure the highest level of care to thousands of patients each year. Ed also served as Chairman of the Institutional Review Board to oversee the hospital's research activities.

Ed served as Chairman of the American Heart Association's Committee on Smoking, Heart Information Services, and Council on Community Programs; he also served as Chairman of the Committee on Government Affairs and was a member of the Governor's Council on Graduate Medical Education. He authored many articles in the field of cardiology and served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Noninvasive Cardiology, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology.

Ed was honored for his service; among the awards he earned are the United Jewish Appeal's Award of Honor, Physician of the Year Award from the Guardians of the Sick and Council of Neighborhood Organizations, the Anti-Defamation League's Torch of Liberty award, Maimonides' Jack R. Aron Medal, and designation for special recognition by the Medical Society of County of Kings, Inc. and Brooklyn's Academy of Medicine.

Throughout his career, Ed was committed to educating the next generation of physicians. He served as Professor of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and taught at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

When not at the hospital, Ed could often be found swimming at the local pool or, years earlier, Lake Ashmere in the Berkshires where he served for many years as a camp doctor. He loved nature and being outdoors. Pervading all aspects of Ed's life was a wonderful sense of humor. He had a joke for every occasion and loved to make others laugh, especially the family he loved with all of his heart.