Sylvan WEINBERG

1923 - 2017

WEINBERG, MD Dr. Sylvan Lee

by Leslie D. Weinberg and Josh Lader.

Dr. Sylvan Weinberg was born on Flag Day, June 14th, 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee to Russian Jewish immigrant Beatrice Weinberg from Latvia and Abraham Weinberg of Poland. His mother was an English teacher and Scholar and his father owned a coal yard when his family moved to Dayton in 1932. He graduated valedictorian of his class at Fairview High School in 1941 and played on the varsity tennis team. He began his writing career in high school winning the city wide essay contest two years in a row with his essays published in the newspaper as his prize.

Dr. Weinberg attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and then completed his medical residence and fellowship in cardiology at Northwestern Medical School. His internship, medical residence and fellowship in cardiology was at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. He went on to serve in the US Army, hoping to go to Walter Reed but instead he was deployed to Korea in 1950 to serve as Captain in army MASH unit specializing in frostbite and serving in the front lines of combat until the end of the Korean war.

At Northwestern, Dr. Weinberg met his future wife, Joan, through a blind date arranged by mutual friends in Dayton. They were married for 58 years until Joan's passing in May 2014. They shared a love of science. Joan was a high school science teacher, artist and medical illustrator. Dr. Weinberg is survived by his daughter, Leslie D. Weinberg, son, Andrew L. Weinberg, and granddaughters Paige Weinberg and Hannah Weinberg.

At Good Samaritan Hospital, where he served as chief of staff for over 30 years, he also founded the first coronary care unit in Ohio He directed the Wright State University fellowship program from 1980 -'89 and headed a private group Cardiology practice until he retired in 2000. A past president of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Chest Physicians. He was Editor-in-Chief of ACCEL, and international educational journal on tape of contemporary cardiovascular medicine and surgery from 1985 until retirement. He was recognized and known as, 'the voice of cardiology' for two decades travelling around the world and interviewing the world's leaders in cardiology.

Dr. Weinberg was the founding editor of the American Heart Hospital Journal, Heat & Lung Journal and of Dayton Medicine magazine, providing medical and lay person arts editorial that graced doctor's waiting rooms throughout the city. He also was associate editor of the AMA Archives of Internal Medicine, the ACC Review Journal and served on numerous editorial boards, including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, CHEST, Clinical Cardiology and Heart Journal, formerly the British Heart Journal.

In addition to being widely published in Medical literature, he made more than 230 invited speaking appearances in five continents overseas as well as North America. His last position was as Founding Editor of the Journal of the Heart Institute of Dayton. He also was author of two books of essays about medicine and life entitled, An Epitaph for Merlin and Perhaps for Medicine and, The Golden Age of Medical Science & The Dark Age of Healthcare Delivery. In 2009 a medical library was established in his name for his many years of service at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Although Dr. Weinberg was widely known, loved and revered in his home town, Dayton served him as a platform propelling his lengthy career into National and International fame in the field of Cardiology. He was a long standing member of Moraine Country Club and the Moraine Society.

Dr. Weinberg's final months were spent at Arlington Pointe Rehab and Nursing facility in Middletown, where he was beloved by the staff and everyone who crossed his path. He believed he worked there and made rounds seeing patients every day as he had grown accustomed to doing throughout his long career serving others.

Dr. Weinberg slipped away peacefully in his sleep on the morning of 1/17/17. His final word was the name of his beloved wife Joan.

In Lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Dr. Sylvan Weinberg's name to: The Heart Institute of Dayton