Eugene Herbert Kaplan M.D.

Eugene Herbert Kaplan, MD Eugene Herbert Kaplan, M.D. died on Oct. 13, 2019, age 93. A retired psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, he was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Neuropsychiatry & Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine; Emeritus Training & Supervising Analyst and Assistant Director Emeritus at the Psychoanalytic Institute of the Carolinas; and Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Kaplan was born to Bertha Abramson Kaplan and Samuel W. Kaplan in the Bronx, NY; where he spent his early years. Graduating from De Witt Clinton HS in 1941, he attended City College of NY. Before transferring to the University of Michigan where he enlisted in the Army Reserve. Called to active duty, Dr. Kaplan was assigned as a Browning Automatic Rifleman to the 87th Infantry Division at Ft. Jackson SC. Overseas, the 87th fought in Patton's 3d Army. For combat in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, including the Saar, the Bulge and the Siegfried Line, he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, EAME Service Medal with Battle Stars for Saar-Ardennes and Rhineland, WW II Victory Medal, French Croix de Guerre, and Fourragere of the Belgian Croix de Guerre. Kaplan returned to France from an Army hospital in England just as hostilities ended in Europe. As a Labor Supervision Company NCO, he oversaw the guard assignments of hundreds of Polish Displaced Persons (DPs) and the work details of thousands of German prisoners of war (POWs) while maintaining liaison with the French Bureau of Labor. After Japan surrendered, his facility in French enabled Kaplan to attend the universities of Grenoble and Paris (La Sorbonne) while awaiting redeployment. Back home, Dr. Kaplan returned to Michigan (BS in Chem. 194 7), subsequently obtaining his MD from NYU College of Medicine (1951). After postgraduate studies at Presbyterian Hospital Chicago, Bellevue Hospital NY, Hillside Hospital Glen Oaks NY, and the NY Psychoanalytic Institute, he practiced psychiatry and psychoanalysis in Great Neck NY for 30 years. During this time, he held clinical appointments in psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, SUNY-Stony Brook, and Cornell U. Medical College. Dr. Kaplan also served on the faculty of the Downstate Psychoanalytic Institute. In 1984, 40 years after he left Ft. Jackson for overseas, Dr. Kaplan returned to Columbia to join the USC Medical Faculty. While his official retirement was in 2005, he actually continued teaching until 2010. Predeceased by his parents and first wife, Sarane Lenore Rosenberg Kaplan (Rainie), in 1983, he is survived by his wife, Elena A. Grynberg-Bekier; his sister Eileen K. Lavin and brother-in-law Stanley Lavin of Great Neck NY; five sons: Dr. Saul J. (Susan) of Fairfax VA; Dr. Robert E. (Jean Doerr) of Buffalo NY; Dr. Aaron V. (Deborah) of Norwich VT; Daniel J. (Amy Graydon) of New York City and Matthew W. (Kimberly) of Summit NJ; three stepsons, Nathan Klejman (Joan) of Franklin Grove IL, Gabriel Kleiman of New York City; and Victor Klejman (Yael) of Jerusalem, Israel; eleven grandchildren, six step-grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and five nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Eugene H. Kaplan, M.D. Endowment for Resident Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Research, USC Educational Foundation, or to the charity of your choice.