Abraham Horvitz, 103, of Providence, died January 27, 2015. A Providence native, he decided to become a doctor as a teenager. He studied biology at Brown, and completed his medical degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and residency at Washington University in St. Louis. He was working at Harlem Hospital in New York when Pearl Harbor was attacked and, although exempted from the draft because he was a doctor, he enlisted. A captain in the Third Army Surgical Corps, he operated on wounded American and German soldiers on Utah Beach in Normandy after D-Day and came under fire in the Battle of the Bulge. Witnessing the liberation of a concentration camp strengthened his identity as a Jew and his ardent support of Israel.
In 1948 he and his wife, Eleanor, and their new son, Leslie ’70, moved to Providence, where Abraham opened a surgical practice. He was affiliated with The Miriam Hospital for 41 years and served as medical staff president, and was a clinical assistant professor of surgery at Brown for nearly 30 years. After retiring, at age 79, he continued to serve Brown as a clinical associate professor emeritus and to attend medical conferences at The Miriam. A longtime member of Temple Beth-El, he is survived by his son.
Donations in his memory can be made to the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, 130 Sessions St., Providence, RI 02906; or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
