Edward Michael Weinshel

Edward Michael Weinshel, M.D., Died in San Francisco, on December 30, 2007, at age 88, from complications of Alzheimer's disease. A practicing psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in San Francisco for 45 years. Ed is survived by his loving wife of 26 years, Jenny Weinshel; his children Julie Tepper of Santa Monica and John Weinshel of Vashon Island, WA, and their spouses Craig Tepper and Pascale Judet, respectively; grandchildren, Caitlin Stark, Jamie Pittel, Gabriel Judet-Weinshel, and Hannah Tepper; and great-granddaughter, Maya Stark. He is also survived by his stepchildren Dena Sorbo and Kent Marshall; by their spouses Paul Sorbo and Lisa Marshall, respectively; and by their children Joe and Sam Sorbo, and Shana Marshall. Ed is predeceased by his first wife of 39 years, Anita Brossell Weinshel. Bertha Clark helped and was a devoted member of the Weinshel family for more than 50 years. Ed was born and raised in Milwaukee WI, where his father and uncles ran a clothing factory. He received his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Wisconsin, before serving as a captain in the army during World War II. After the war, he moved to San Francisco to begin his residency at Mt. Zion Hospital, an institution with which he was associated for the rest of his working life. He was in private practice from 1949 until illness forced his retirement in 1994. He was the author of more than 40 papers concerning a broad and surprisingly diverse range of issues; many of them were written with his colleague and close friend, the late Dr. Victor Calef. Ed believed passionately in the ability of Freudian psychoanalysis to relieve the suffering imposed by neuroses born of unresolved childhood conflicts. He devoted his life to both its practice, and to extending its reach beyond the narrow confines of its professional and class boundaries. To that end, he helped open its doors to non-medical professionals, and fought to provide treatment to all those in need. Ed fell in love with his adopted city of San Francisco in 1948, and the love affair continued for the rest of his life; his devotion to the San Francisco Giants never wavered. A Memorial service will be held at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, at 3200 California St., on Saturday, January 26, at 3 p.m.