Obituary of Harvey Gurien
Dr. Harvey Gurien died Thursday, April 26, 2018 at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany. He was 92 years old. He was born September 1925, in Brooklyn, New York, to Sam and Mollie Alper Gurien. He served in WWII and was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He attended college on the GI Bill, earning a PhD. in Organic Chemistry from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Harvey spent his career working for several major pharmaceutical firms, including Hoffmann-La Roche in Nutley, NJ and retiring from Sterling Pharmaceuticals in Rensselaer, NY as a top official in Drug Regulatory Affairs.
Dr. Gurien's other passion was the outdoors. He was an avid hiker, climbing mountains in the Catskills, Adirondacks, Whites and Greens. In his retirement, he walked across England and trekked in New Zealand. He was an award-winning photographer, and an active member of the Schenectady Photographic Society. He was also an accomplished musician who played the saxophone, clarinet and oboe. He was a member of the Colonie Town Band, the Albany Area Senior Orchestra, the Elderhostel Orchestra and a number of wind quintets. He loved driving out to the remote beaches of the Jersey Shore to enjoy the solitude and challenge of surf fishing.
Dr. Gurien was predeceased by his wife of over 30 years, Gwen Nessim Gurien, who passed in 2015. He is survived by his first wife Harriet Holzberg Gurien, and by his five children: Nathaniel (Diane) Gurien; Dr. Andrew (Victoria) Gurien; David (Theresa) Gurien; Molly Gurien; Adam (Lynn) Gurien; his four grandchildren - Caelan McCarthy; and Zachary, Arielle and Zoey Gurien; as well as his step-children, Vida Lipowski, Marti Hayducka and David Nessim.
