Obituary of Julius Gelber
Dr. Julius Gelber,passed away quietly Tuesday
night, February 8, 2011. He was with his wife of 65 years, Elisabeth, and at his home on Sunnyside Road in Scotia. He wouldn't have
wanted it any other way. He was 95 years old.
Chuck, as he was usually called by friends, or simply,"Doc" was born on the Lower East Side of
Manhattan in 1915, the son of Eastern European
immigrants who came here through Ellis Island for a better life. The Doc found what they were looking for and made the most of it. He attended Seward Park High School in Manhattan
and did well,well enough to be the first in his family to attend college. He worked his way
through undergrad at Johns Hopkins University, famously,making his tuition selling hot dogs at the Hopkins lacrosse games. That was the end, however of his short career in food
services. He went on to medical school and graduated with the class of 1941 from the University of Maryland just in time to be called up to serve during World War II. He began his military service on Christmas Island, a largely uninhabited rock in the middle of the South Pacific. The highlight of his time there was when Eleanor Roosevelt came to visit and
greet the troops. Lt. Gelber (later Captain) was assigned the duty of showing her around
the island and acting as her host. He called this the high light of his time there and noted that she was pretty much the only woman he saw during that period. He was reassigned in 1944 to Europe and Patton's 3rd Army. His first assignment was as a member of the medical unit that followed the front line soldiers at the Invasion of Normandy, D-Day. He returned following the War to continue his medical training both in Maryland and in New York City.
In 1946, he met and married the love of his life, Elisabeth Weiss, and remained married to her for 65 years. He established his medical practice, hung out his shingle, as they say, in Schenectady in 1950. He practiced Urology there until his retirement in 1985. Medical practice back then wasn't the same as it is today. There were house calls and medical insurance that is not in the industry now. The doctor had a close relationship with his patients and he knew them all by name. He told stories of patients who paid him in any way they could. He was paid in eggs, apples, free meatballs at a local Italian
restaurant and sometimes not at all. It didn't matter to him. He was merely following an oath he had taken when he got into the business of taking care of people. Fellow doctors remember him for his quick sense of humor and big smile.
As a doctor, he was perhaps the last of his breed. Along the way, he managed to have a lot of children. Boys. Loads of them. Nine, if you're counting. His life served two masters; his medical practice and his family. While the day to day raising of children often fell to the mom in those days, the statement, or perhaps I should say threat "wait until your father comes home" held special meaning in the Gelber family. Disciplining boys fell to the father back then. But all of his boys turned out pretty well and he always took a great deal
of pride in their achievements. But his own achievements were myriad and a source of pride for the rest of the family. In retirement, he followed the lives of his boys and his grandchildren, always proud and always quick with a story of a son's latest success or new
grandchild. He was "Pockie" to his grandchildren, a name given to him by his first grand child. He was beloved by all 26 of them, and one great-grand child. He will be deeply missed by his family and by his community. He will also be remembered as one of the "Greatest
Generation" who made his world better for all who followed him. He is survived by his wife,
Elisabeth; beloved sister, Mildred; his nine sons, 26 grandchildren and his great-grandson.
Services at Congregation Gates of Heaven, 852 Ashmore Ave., Schenectady on Friday, February 11, at 1 p.m. A reception for family and friends will follow at 20 Sunnyside Road at 3 p.m. All who knew him are welcome.