HAROLD BRODMAN Obituary

BRODMAN--Dr. Harold. Through sheer force of will in the morning on January 1, 2026, Dr. Harold Brodman FACS let go once he had reached his 103rd birthday. We hope he quietly celebrated before letting go. He was born in the Bronx. He met his wife Elizabeth, also a physician, at the University of Cincinnati Medical School. By the time he reached his 40th birthday dad was the busiest doctor in the Bronx. He worked harder than any 10 men, a third of that time at no cost to his patients - and he made house calls - unheard of now. He was a doctor in the truest sense of the discipline. He practiced general surgery when general surgeons did every specialty - nearly everything. He was a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Every young resident at the Montefiore Medical Center was eager to be on Dr. Brodman's Surgical Service. He loved practicing medicine and he loved teaching. Dad also loved gardening - flowers, fruits and vegetables. His well-worn overalls were legendary. He was a husband, a father and a physician. He became the President of the Bronx Chapter of the American College of Surgeons a milestone for a Jew - he was the first. He traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan in 1972 and to Malang, Java in 1977 with his wife Elizabeth to teach using locally available articles and equipment. The supplies were so precious that the adhesive tape hung in the OR was protected with lock and chain. After he retired from surgery Dr. Brodman worked for the Aetna Insurance Company for five years as their medical consultant. At 75, when Aetna was moving its headquarters South, dad was invited to go but instead stayed in the NY metro area with his wife and to be near his children. He loved NYC. But dad did not retire, he carved imaginative stools and tables each from a single 30" tall length of a tree (14" to 20" in diameter) dropped off by friends and neighbors - at that time he could still lift those heavy sections. As he aged the carvings became smaller - but he carved as long as he could. As a skilled surgeon, he was a deft carver and as a lover of art, inspired by his wife, his creations were lyrical. His extended family treasures his creations. Harold and Elizabeth traveled extensively - they were engaged students interested in archeology and the natural world. They were biologists at heart. Dad lived an interesting and fulfilling life. His stories of those adventures captivated audiences. Pre-deceased by Elizabeth Beekley, his beloved wife of 70 years and their artistic and warm-hearted son Charles. He is survived by his children - Louise and her husband Steven; his son Richard, his wife Connie; his granddaughter Alexandra, her husband David, and his great-grandchildren Jane and Sam and also his ever-fun and attentive nieces Nancy and Carol along with many nieces and nephews who considered him the family's last well of family history.