Herschel Bornstein M. D.

Dr. Herschel Bornstein died on Wednesday, May 7, after a long illness. He most recently was a resident of Evanston and previously lived for more than 60 years in Gary, Indiana. Herschel Bornstein was born to Aaron and Ida Jenny Bornstein on October 10, 1926 in Gary, Indiana, the fifth of six children. He graduated from Gary’s Horace Mann High School in 1943 at the age of 16, attended the University of Illinois and served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps during World War II. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Indiana University, and served his residency with the US Public Health Service in Staten Island, N.Y. In 1953 he returned to Gary where he practiced family medicine for more than 30 years. In 1969-70 he took a sabbatical from his medical practice to attend Harvard University where he earned a Masters degree in Public Health. Herschel’s family and friends knew him as an outspoken supporter of civil rights (a long time member of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union and a life member of the NAACP) and Jewish community causes (a life member of the Zionist Organization of America, supporter of Hadassah Medical Organization, Youth Aliyah, Northwest Indiana Jewish Federation and a Board member of Temple Beth-El in Gary). He traveled to Israel many times, and served as a physician in Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. He was a patron of the arts, a great storyteller and chess player, and always relished a good meal and a great bottle of wine with family and friends.. Dr. Bornstein is remembered as a concerned and dedicated physician who served the community regardless of race or income; he initiated improvements in environmental preservation and occupational standards, and instituted public health initiatives as Gary’s Health Commissioner (1971-75) and Coroner (1975-1979). Dr. Bornstein was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Morris Bornstein, his sisters Anne Liberman and Shirley Shaevel, and his wife, Ruth Bornstein. He is survived by his wife, Eva Masur Bornstein, sisters Dorothy Swartz and Bluma (Jack) Herman, daughters Rebecca (Ronald) Lipton, Deborah Bornstein (Steven Sklare), and Judith (Keith) Upton; grandchildren Clara (Charles) Duffield, Eve Lipton, Donald (Rachel) Upton, Saul (Lucy) Lipton, David Upton, Sarah Sklare, Amelia Upton and Charles Sklare; great-granddaughters Alana and Sophia Duffield and eighteen nieces and nephews. Funeral service Friday, May 9, 2014 at 2 p.m.at Burns Funeral Home, 10101 Broadway, Crown Point, IN with Rabbi Mordecai Levin officiating. Interment in Temple Beth-El Cemetery, Portage, IN. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the Council for Jewish Elderly, 3003 W. Touhy Ave., Chicago, IL 60645 www.burnsfuneral .com

Herschel Bornstein M. D.

October 10, 1926 - May 7, 2014