In memoriam: Dr. Charles Gomberg

The leaders and staff of the Jewish General Hospital are saddened by the passing of Dr. Charles Gomberg, a specialist in internal medicine, whose association with the JGH lasted more than 70 years—a rarity even among veteran physicians.

Dr. Gomberg, who died on August 1 at the age of 99, earned a B.Sc. at McGill University. But he said in an interview in 2022 that making the leap to medical school in the mid- to late 1940s was tough—in part, because of the quota that McGill imposed on the number of Jews who could be admitted.

As well, since so many discharged World War II veterans were returning to Montreal, competition for a place in medical school was fierce.

So when Tulane University said “yes”, he jumped at the chance and headed to New Orleans where he earned his M.D. in 1952.

Then it was back to the JGH for an internship (1952-53), a year of training at the Veterans’ Hospital on Queen Mary Road, a one-year fellowship in Chicago, and a two-year residency in internal medicine at the JGH in 1955 and 1956. He began practicing at the JGH in 1957.

Dr. Gomberg stopped seeing patients in 2020, and only in 2022 did he decide not to renew his medical licence as a specialist. Nevertheless, he remained a frequent visitor to the hospital’s Health Sciences Library, as well as a regular at Grand Rounds lectures, attending in person before the COVID-19 pandemic and online afterwards.

As to why he chose not to step away at the conventional retirement age of 65, Dr. Gomberg said in 2022 there was “no compelling reason to stop. I always enjoyed what I was doing. In fact, as far back as I can remember, there was nothing else I wanted to do with my life.”