I first met Howie as a first year medical student.  We shared an apartment with Greg during our third year.    He was probably the most studious of our group but despite a voluminous workload we managed to  have a great time in medical school.   we spent time together in California and had a great trip up Yosemite National Park.  Floyd and Paul, two of our classmates visited Howie about 10 years ago and Howie took us to some inexpensive casinos in Henderson so we wouldn’t lose too much money

Together at Elizabeth's graduation from college

In Loving Memory of Dr. Howard Schanker
I first met Howard many years ago during a Kaiser Allergy symposium where we  connected over our shared experiences as medical students in New York.  We agreed at the symposium to go out on a date with our wives and we instantly bonded. I was sad when Howard and Terrie decided to relocate to in New York but rejoiced when I learned that they decided to move back to California and from then on, we were frequent companions.
I’ll always smile remembering our “movie dates,” when the girls would insist on a chick flick and Howard and I would valiantly agree… only to fall asleep within the first ten minutes. It became its own tradition — the two of us snoring softly while the plot unfolded without us with Howard occasionally awakening and commenting on the actors wooden performances.
New Year’s Eve will never feel quite the same without our dinners at Rive Gauche Café. Year after year, we gathered around that familiar table, raising glasses to the year behind us and the one ahead, grateful that we got to mark time together.
Halloween was another chapter in our shared story — alternating houses, watching horror movies, eating good food and enjoying the simple joy of being surrounded by people who felt like family.
I recall the Las Vegas trips before Howard and Terrie moved there, filled with laughter, stories, and the kind of memories that only happen when good friends travel together. And of course, travelling to the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology meetings with Howard — part professional, part excuse to explore a new city with someone who made even the most ordinary moments feel memorable.
And then there was the night we watched the final episode of The Sopranos together — all of us leaning forward, waiting for answers, only to be left staring at a blank screen. The confusion, the laughter, the “Wait… what just happened?” — it was perfect, because we were together.
These moments — big and small — are the threads of a frie

Howard was a compassionate physician and an outstanding diagnostician.  A former dear friend that I have fond memories of.

So saddened to hear the news.Howard played a meaningful role in my life as a physician and a friend.
He was smart, compassionate and wise. Will treasure his memory always.
AJ

Doc shmul. What happened ? You were the baby , the youngest of 9 cousins but the youngest to die. Geography and “stuff” kept us apart but not in my love for you. I loved how you reached out to me more than I did to you. I never stopped loving you and never will. 
I wish I could hug you. So many memories. The little shtunk, the railroad uniforms, the “I changed” story with aunt Beulah ,grandma’s false teeth , Antoine the hairdresser ,Sylvia’s broken candy fisher, walking into the snow drift, our trip to Binghamton to find you housing  your abbreviated bar mitzvah and on and on. This is a loss I will never recover from

B

OBITUARY

Howard M Jay Schanker

October 2, 1951 – May 26, 2026

King David Memorial Chapel & Cemetery

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