Paul Pfeffer, 81, died March 31, 2020, in Santa Barbara, California.
Paul was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated at the top of his class at the City University of New York in 1958 and earned a scholarship to attend Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he completed his Doctor of Medicine in Psychiatry in 1962. He enlisted and served in Vietnam as a doctor for the U.S. Marine Corps. From 1970 to 1990, he worked at St. Vincent's Hospital in Harrison, NY, becoming Director of Adolescent Psychiatry there prior to relocating to Glastonbury, CT, in 1990. Paul treated adult and adolescent patients at Manchester Hospital and in private practice in Manchester and Glastonbury until 2019, when he and his wife Noemi moved to California.
Paul is survived by his wife of 51 years, Noemi, his daughter Judi, his sons Daniel and Matthew, his grandchildren Timothy, Adriana, Gertrude, and Olivia, his brother Herbert, his nephew Mark, and his niece Alexandra.
Paul loved sports and literature, wildlife and science, nature and medicine. He loved the mountains, and wore out dozens of boots (and sometimes his children, when they were younger) hiking up and down trails in the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the Adirondacks, and elsewhere. He loved his and Noemi's garden, spending hundreds of hours each year planting, mulching, moving rocks, weeding, and watering. He loved his home in Glastonbury, Connecticut, filling it with books and art and rugs and houseplants. He loved his family quietly and deeply and gave everything he could to nurture their health, growth, and success.
Paul is remembered for how he made those around him feel heard, understood, respected, and honored, and how his care and attention gave them strength and opened opportunities for growth and change. For how quick he was to make a joke or a pun, and to put everyone around him at ease. For how he maintained connections with family, friends, colleagues, and patients, and remembered their stories.
Memorial services for Paul will be scheduled at a later date. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Yale Cancer Center (https://www.yalecancercenter.org/gifts/) or another charity of your choice. His family welcomes condolences and memories of Paul at [email protected]. Arrangements are under the direction of the JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE, Ventura.