Dr. Henry U. Grunebaum

Dr. Henry U. Grunebaum, age 87, of Cambridge, on Friday, April 11, 2014. For 54 years, he was the dear husband of Judith (Seder) Grunebaum. Wonderful father of Michael Grunebaum & his wife, Ruth Graver, Eric Grunebaum & his wife Miriam Tendler, and Daniel Grunebaum & his wife Saori. Loving grandfather of Michela, Sam, Noah, Jacob, and Max. Dear brother of Louise and Richard. Fond uncle to his nieces and nephews and their children. Henry Grunebaum lived a long and great life, spending his formative years in New York City, where his earliest memories included a horse-drawn ice delivery to the family’s apartment on the Upper West Side. His high school years were spent in Scarsdale, NY, before he attended Harvard College, moving to Cambridge where he lived the rest of his life with the exception of his military service and a pediatric residency in New York City. As a young man, he was an avid rock climber, skier, sailor and hiker, summiting the Grand Teton twice – once in his 20s and again in his 60s. He scaled Whitehorse, Cathedral, and Canon cliffs in NH among others, and skied Tuckerman Ravine numerous times with his sons. He continued hiking, skiing and other outdoor adventures with his children and grandchildren, taking his last hike with them to Lonesome Lake in NH when he was 86. His academic interests began in the field of chemistry. He graduated from Harvard Medical School, did a residency in pediatrics and a second residency in psychiatry. He loved literature, cared deeply about people and the stories of their lives and so the practice of psychiatry became more than a career to him – it was a vocation and a love. He became a clinical professor at Harvard and found great fulfillment as a researcher, teacher, and innovator in the field of family and couples therapy. Along with his wife Judy, he founded the respected Couples & Family Clinic and Training Program at Cambridge Hospital, providing a multicultural staff of Creole, Spanish, and Portuguese speaking clinicians for underserved clients in the city hospital setting. He continued seeing patients until only a few weeks before he died. Private services will be held on Friday, April 18. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be sent to the Appalachian Mountain Club or the Association to Preserve Cape Cod.