Charles Hurwitz Age 99 Charles’ parents, Solomon and Stella Hurwitz, immigrated in the early 1900’s to Springfield, Massachusetts from what is now known as Belarus. Solomon operated a barber shop and Stella cared for their two children, Charles (born April 1, 1913) and Shirley (1918-1985). Charles graduated from Springfield’s Classical High School in 1929 and from Massachusetts State College (now University of Massachusetts, Amherst) where he received a Bachelor of Science in Bacteriology in 1934. He enrolled in the University of Wisconsin as a graduate student to study soil bacteriology in 1936. After struggling financially through his first year, he was offered a fellowship which enabled him to obtain a Masters Degree in 1938. While studying for his degree in Madison, Charles met a visiting professor from Ohio State University who offered him a fellowship in the Department of Agriculture. Charles accepted the offer and completed his Ph.D. with a specialization in soil bacteriology in 1942. Charles enlisted in the army when the United States entered World War II, but was not called up for some months, enabling him to work at the Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After being called up he went for basic training. "I got the highest score in the regiment in marksmanship and wrote about it to my mother. She sent me one sentence in Yiddish: 'Don't be such a wise guy'." Charles was assigned to the 314th General Hospital Division which was deployed to Manila as one of eight general hospitals in preparation for the planned invasion of Japan. Charles spent a year in Manila before returning to civilian life as Assistant Research Professor at the University of Massachusetts (1946-1948) and then as a Research Associate in the Halloran VA hospital on Staten Island, New York. While in New York, Charles met and married Jean Parker in 1950 and, shortly thereafter, was transferred to the newly constructed Veterans Administration Hospital in Albany. His research at the VA, where he remained for the next 48 years, resulted in more than 65 peer-reviewed publications describing the mechanisms of action of antibiotics and the interactions of serum proteins with complement component C1Q. He also served as the Executive Secretary of the Research Committee, the Principal Scientist, an Associate Professor of Bacteriology at Albany Medical College, and an Adjunct Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Charles officially retired in 1992. Jean and Charles have four children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren:
Richard (born in 1951), an MD Pediatrician, and his wife Joanne, a PhD biochemist, are both on the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine. They have two daughters: Rebecca and her husband Will, both veterinarians, have two children, Leah and Liam. Debra has a Ph.D. in Planetary Geology. Both Rebecca and Debra currently live in the Houston area.
David (born in 1953) is a Physical Therapist in Ithaca, New York.His son Jared lives in Syracuse, New York.
Laura (born in 1955), an Occupational Therapist, and her husband Duane live in Saco, Maine.Their two children, Erin, with his wife Lindsey, and Amanda currently live in the New York City area.
Cheryl (born in 1960) is a Psychotherapist.She and her daughter Eliana live in Silver Spring, Maryland.
After his wife Jean died in 1995, Charles continued working at the VA Hospital in Albany until 1998 when he moved to Houston, Texas to live with Richard and Joanne and to join them in their laboratory at Texas Children’s Hospital. In addition to going to the laboratory every day, Charles keeps up a steady routine that includes three times a week at the gym.
