Charles Robert Beber MD

August 2, 1928 – March 28, 2018

On Wednesday, we lost Chuck. An endlessly curious, profoundly intellectual, bitingly witty, truly independent, generous father, son, husband, grandfather, brother, and physician, and a just man.

Chuck believed in the sanctity of the individual. He believed in life. He believed in appreciating every moment of it, big and small. And he quietly and unwaveringly did that, through 54 years of marriage, almost 50 years of medical practice, 9 years of illness, and 89 years of living.

After receiving his B.A. from Harvard and his M.D. from the University of Nebraska, Dr. Beber followed his father into the field of geriatrics, which they helped to shape. He was in the first group of physicians to be a Board-licensed geriatrician. He was president of the American Geriatric Society, medical director of the Miami Jewish Home for the Aged (now Miami Jewish Health Systems) for over 35 years bringing that institution to national prominence, and held various leadership positions at South Florida institutions including (then) Cedars Hospital and Mt. Sinai Medical Center. At the same time, he always joked that a hospital is no place to be sick. In his private practice he was old-fashioned, charging what people could pay, refusing to take more than what Medicare reimbursed, and donating much of his time to clinics at Jackson. At the University of Miami, he taught and mentored many currently practicing geriatricians, creating the first Fellowship in the specialty.

He was not religious, but he was committed to Jewish life. He was active in the American Jewish Committee (and a past president) because of their dedication to Jewish causes and social liberalism.

Chuck was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He then emigrated from the US to New York City (as he would say) where he met his beloved wife, Joyful. They married in a March snowstorm and took off for the wilds of Kentucky and army life, finishing his military service at The Presidio in San Francisco. Eventually, Chuck and Joyce settled in Miami, where he helped lead his family of wife and two daughters on adventures in advertising, the Everglades, and far-flung travel.

He also loved his cigars and his dogs. Chuck could be found walking all over the Grove with cigar in one hand, dogs in the other, and quietly making friends with a wide cast of characters. Shrimpers, homeless, and other Grove denizens would stop us and ask, “Where’s doc?” when we would substitute on the occasional dog walk.

Predeceased by his parents, Meyer and Lillian Beber and wife Joyce Beber, he is survived by his brother Bud (Diane); daughters Neena and Jennifer Beber; sons-in-law Marc Turkel and David Frankel; and grandchildren Lucien, Dash, Phoebe and Jake.

Services will be held at 2pm Sunday at Riverside Gordon Mt. Nebo, 5900 SW 77th Avenue. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the American Jewish Committee, an advocate for Israel, human rights and democratic values for all.