Dr. Harry Friedman

Dr. Harry Samuel Friedman, age 96, on April 5, 2012. Predeceased by wives Gertrude Rotenberg Friedman and Harriett Friend Fingerman Friedman; brothers Samuel (Lillian), Dr. Gerald (Hannah), Dr. Isadore (Florence); sisters Sophie (Sol) Yarosh, Bertha (Rabbi David) Aronson, and Betty (Harry) Sweet. Survived by children: Sharon (Dr. Donald) Gordon of Broomall, PA, Dr. Rohn Friedman (Dr. Barbara Byse) of Newton, MA, and Dr. Jeffrey (Laura) Friedman of Newton, MA. Also, stepchildren: Orlene Fingerman of Marshfield, MA, Joel (Sheila) Fingerman of Oak Park, IL, Sally Fingerman of Golden Valley, and Raleigh (Bill) Wolpert of Minnetonka. Grandchildren: Jessica Gordon of Washington, DC, Jennifer Gordon of Los Angeles, Gabrielle Friedman of Chicago, and Daniel Friedman of Oberlin, Ohio; and many loving nieces and nephews. Born in Minneapolis on September 13, 1915 to Rabbi Samuel and Mary Friedman. A skilled athlete, he played on baseball and basketball teams for the Emanuel Cohen Center and later the Southside Neighborhood House. He was a forward on the North High basketball team that, in 1933, won City, Twin City, and Regional championships but lost the State finals to Red Wing by 3 points. He graduated from North High, where he served as Sports Editor of the weekly North High Polaris. From 1933-1939 he attended the University of Minnesota undergraduate and medical schools. He completed an internship in Minot, ND. When Hitler invaded Europe, he volunteered for the Army and served five years, reaching the rank of Captain. He was assigned to the 24th Evacuation Hospital during the war, participated in the Normandy Invasion on D-Day, and he was one of the first Americans to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. After the war, he trained in ophthalmology in Boston and Cincinnati, and he completed a residency in Ophthalmology at Hine’s V.A. Hospital in Chicago in 1948. He then returned to Minneapolis where he established an ophthalmology practice in the Doctor’s Building. He was one of the founders of Mount Sinai Hospital, where he later served as President of the Medical Staff. He served as President of the Minneapolis Eye Society, President of the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, Vice-President of the Vision Foundation at the University of Minnesota, Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota, and sponsor of the Friedman Resident Research Award in Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota. In 2002 he was awarded the George T. Tani, MD Humanitarian Award by the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology. He was a lifelong fan and season ticket holder for the University of Minnesota basketball and football teams. He was an enthusiastic golfer and a member of Oak Ridge Country Club, where he achieved a hole in one at age 85. . In lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Friedman’s memory would be appreciated to either of the following memorial funds: 1) The Harry Friedman Residents Fund, in support of ophthalmology education at the University of Minnesota. Make checks payable to the “Minnesota Medical Foundation, Fund #4630” and mail to 200 Oak Street SE, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55455-2030. 2) Dr. Harry S. Friedman Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment at the Jewish Community Foundation of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, 13100 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 200, Minnetonka, MN 55305.