Dr. Robert Kirschner

Robert Kirschner, MD, 87, of New York, New York, died on April 1, 2023, at home of complications from dementia. Bob, Bobby, Doc, Dr. Bob, Robert, The Greyhound, Twinkle Toes, and Poppy (as his seven grandchildren knew him) kept his sense of humor until the end, telling jokes to his family and caregivers. A connoisseur of puns, he would have smiled at April Fools’ Day being his last.

He was born on February 5, 1936, to Samuel and Rose Kirschner of Brooklyn, New York. He graduated in 1953 from Poly Prep Country Day School, where he made many lifelong friends. He was an exceptional athlete, and track was his sport. Bob was fast—really fast—earning him his nickname, “The Greyhound.” He ran three seasons: cross country in the fall, board track in the winter, and 440 and 880 relays in the spring. When he and his classmates turned 60, they decided to get together once a year for dinner. At a reunion in 2008, he said, “Too long! Too many years! Too much! What I can say is that whenever we get together, it is remarkable. The years disappear, and we enjoy being a class again.”

After Poly he attended Yale University, continued running with the track team, joined the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, and graduated in 1957. Subsequently he received a Doctor of Medicine degree from New York Medical College, completed a residency in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, and earned a fellowship in nephrology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.

From 1965 to 1968 he served as a Captain for the United States Air Force at Travis Air Force Base. Following his service he moved his family to the east coast, where he practiced internal medicine and nephrology. In the mid- 1970’s, he was the Department Chief of Medicine at Horton Hospital in New York.

Bob loved learning and doing. He learned to sail, but then (with his children handing tools back and forth from the cockpit) figured out how to tear down and rebuild an engine. He learned how to fly and convinced his very patient wife to let him fly his children to school in Connecticut. His wife ended that adventure after one trip when he found himself over Bradley Airport rather than Simsbury Airport. He loved skiing and took his family to Vermont every winter weekend. After a full day on the slopes or on the water, he could be found, Scotch in hand, reading the New York Times, and conquering the crossword puzzle.

He is survived by the love of his life Sylvia Kirschner; four children, Natalie Tallis of Darien, CT, Leslie Kirschner of Miami, Florida, Kimberly Felty of Duxbury, Massachusetts, and Marc Kirschner of New York, New York; sons-in-law Hans Tallis and Bryan Felty; daughter-in-law Susanna Kirschner; grandchildren Annika, Nicholas, and Charlotte Tallis, Storme and Calder Felty, and Aria and Zev Kirschner.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.