1947

Harold L. Osher of Portland, Maine, on December 23, 2023, passed away at the age of 99. He was born in Portland, Maine, on January 11, 1924, to Samuel and Leah (Lazarovich) Osher, immigrants from Russia and Lithuania. The middle child of five, after school he and his siblings worked at the family hardware store in Biddeford, Maine, alongside their parents, from whom they learned the values of education, hard work, and philanthropy. 

Dr. Osher attended Bowdoin College and medical school at Boston University. He served his residency in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital and his fellowship in cardiology at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and also worked on the Framingham Heart Study from 1950 to 1953. 

Although he’d imagined himself teaching at a medical center in Boston, when he married Peggy Liberman in 1950, they decided that Maine would be a better place to raise a family. He established a thriving private practice in Portland and was deeply devoted to his patients. In Maine, Dr. Osher thought he’d be trading an exciting medical career for a preferred lifestyle; during his 45 years of medical practice, he was delighted to discover otherwise. He contributed to the tremendous growth of the Maine Medical Center and Division of Cardiology with his gentle, astute care of patients and through innovation as the director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, chairman of the Research and Executive Committees, and ultimately, as the director of the Division of Cardiology for 16 years. He extended cardiac care to those in rural areas and was instrumental in starting a regional coronary care program so physicians could receive consultation remotely. Ever committed to education, Dr. Osher had faculty appointments at Boston University School of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and the University of Vermont College of Medicine and thoroughly enjoyed teaching and mentoring many young doctors. 

Dr. Osher was president of the Maine affiliate of the American Heart Association and established the prestigious annual Eugene Drake Memorial Lecture, named after a beloved colleague and mentor. He attracted luminaries in the field of cardiology to speak at this event, including Dr. Paul Dudley White, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. Denton Cooley, and Dr. Christiaan Barnard, who performed the world’s first successful heart transplant. In addition to holding leadership positions in many medical societies in Maine, Dr. Osher was a fellow and involved member of the American College of Cardiology, the American Cardiology Foundation, and the American College of Physicians, and served as vice president of the American Heart Association. He received multiple awards for outstanding service and excellence in teaching. 

Dr. Osher is survived by his children Susan Osher Epstein (William), Nancy Osher Blumberg, Judy Osher (Joel Bresler), and Sam Osher (Alana), grandchildren Joshua (Lorri), David (Heloisa Rutigliano), Daniel, Yoni Blumberg, Benjamin, Nathaniel, and William Osher, Abigail and Matthew Bresler, great-grandchildren Mason, Asher, Beatriz, and Leonardo Epstein, his brother Bernard (Barbro) and sister-in-law Dorothy Suzi Osher, and five nieces and nephews. 

1954

Charles Mahanor Jr., of Milton, Massachusetts, on February 18, 2024. Born in 1928 to Charles and Della Mahanor, he was the oldest of six children. He attended public schools in Brockton, graduating from Brockton High School. He was then accepted at Tufts University, where he received his bachelor of science. Charles also completed a master’s degree and enrolled in medical school at Boston University, graduating in 1954. He did his residency at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, after which he enlisted in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958, serving as a captain. He was assigned to Korea, initially with the 44th Surgical Mobile Army Hospital. After three months, he was transferred and made Commanding Officer of the 43rd Surgical Mobile Army Hospital, where he led with distinction, receiving a commendation for his service from the Eighth United States Army. 

Returning from his enlistment to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, he met his future wife and love of his life, Marjorie. His career took him to the Carney Hospital, where he served on the medical staff from 1959 to 2015. He practiced general surgery with a specialty in hand surgery. A gifted surgeon, he healed and saved many lives, and made many friendships among the hospital staff. After retiring from his own practice, he “un-retired” to continue surgery in the hospital’s outpatient center, and after several years began treating patients at the Copeland Surgical Center for wound care at the hospital. He served in many roles at Carney Hospital, including secretary, vice president, and president of the hospital’s medical staff. He also served on the hospital’s development committee and was a founding member of the Carney Hospital Foundation and on the board of trustees. 

Charles mentored and trained surgical residents through Boston University surgical training programs. He was also on the medical staff at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Milton Hospital, and the Youville Hospital (formerly the Holy Ghost Hospital), where he served as president of the medical staff. During his time at St. Elizabeth’s and Carney, he treated patients at the Chelsea Soldier’s Home. For more than 20 years, he worked the 12-hour Friday shift in the Carney Hospital emergency room. He became the medical director at the Liberty Mutual medical unit in Boston, which treated and rehabilitated patients injured through employment, and was a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and the Norfolk District Medical Society. He also served on the Guild of St. Luke in many roles, including president and was an active member in St. Agatha’s Parish in Milton and St. Theresa’s Chapel in Marshfield. 

Charles was married for 37 years to his late wife Marjorie (Gorman). He is the beloved father of Charles, Susan, Elizabeth, and the late Richard. Dear, loving brother to Robert Mahanor, Beverly Jansen, Lawrence Mahanor, and the late Donald Mahanor and Alan Mahanor. He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. A man of great faith, spirituality, and ethics, he lived a long and productive life as a loving father, son, brother, uncle, colleague, friend, mentor, spiritual leader, and guide. 

1965

Murray Weinstock of Baltimore, Maryland, and Naples, Florida (formerly of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey), on January 23, 2024. 

Born on December 5, 1934, in Monasterzyska, Poland, his first language was Yiddish. He immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1937 and settled in West New York, New Jersey. Murray attended Memorial High School in West New York and later put himself through the Rutgers College of Pharmacy. He served in the US Army for six months and the Army Reserve for six years. Later, he put himself through medical school—starting at the University of Amsterdam (without knowing Dutch) and then finishing at Boston University, where a niece and nephew later followed in his footsteps. Murray did his internship at Boston University, his residency in internal medicine at Albert Einstein, his fellowship in cardiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and worked at the Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital. 

Murray enjoyed a long career as a practicing cardiologist beloved by his patients and staff, seeing patients until he was in his late 70s. He was an attending physician at Hackensack University Medical Center for more than 40 years and a US FAA designated senior aviation medical examiner and offered immigration medical exams. After he retired from his private practice, Murray worked as an expert witness for court cases with medical questions. 

He is survived by his beloved wife, Gloria Weinstock, devoted children Abby (Shawn) Sefret and Judith (Craig) Bitman, loving sister Lenore (Spencer) Shaps, adoring grandchildren Jonah Luke Bitman, Eli Thomas Bitman, Grant Spencer Bitman, Shayna Eva Sefret, Aliza Rose Sefret, and Hannah Leah Sefret, and dear nieces, nephews, and their children. 

1976

Malcolm N. Joseph III, of Clarksville, Maryland, on November 26, 2023. 

Malcolm was born in New York City to Malcolm and Essie Joseph in 1949. He graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in 1967. In 1971, Malcolm became one of the first Black alumni of the College of the Holy Cross, graduating with a degree in biology and sociology. He then accepted a Reserve Officer Training Corps commission into the United States Air Force. After Malcolm earned his MD from Boston University, he completed his internship at Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base and residency in occupational medicine at Johns Hopkins University. He also earned his MPH from Johns Hopkins. 

In 1983, Malcolm married Pamela, whom he met while both were stationed at Andrews Air Force Base (AFB). After assignments at Robins AFB in Georgia, Elmendorf AFB in Alaska, Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, and the Pentagon, the Joseph family settled in Maryland. Together, Malcolm and Pamela raised four children, Natalie C. Zeigler, Malcolm N. Joseph IV, Margaret T. Joseph, and the late Elizabeth D. Joseph, who passed away at age four from bacterial meningitis. 

After serving the country for over two decades as a chief flight surgeon, traveling the world providing medical staffing for three presidential administrations and serving on Air Force One as Vice President Walter Mondale’s physician, Malcolm retired in 1998 as a USAF Colonel. Then, he joined CareFirst, where he served as a medical director for nearly 20 years.