Henry G. Reinhardt, former OB-GYN at Glen Cove Community Hospital, dies at 88
Henry G. Reinhardt, a former obstetrician and gynecologist at Glen Cove Community Hospital and a longtime resident of Westbury, died Aug. 10 of complications from lymphoma at The Amsterdam at Harborside in Port Washington. He was 88.
Reinhardt, born to Julius and Barbara Reinhardt, grew up in Astoria, Queens, and graduated from Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx in 1942.
That summer, he met his wife, Boria Marceca, in Bayville on a blind date. They were married in Ozone Park in 1947.
After graduating, at 17 he joined the Navy, which sent him to Dartmouth College, where he got his bachelor's degree in medicine in 1945.
He then went to New York Medical College in Valhalla, where he received his PhD as a medical doctor in 1949.
He began his residency at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City but it was cut short when he was called to serve in the Korean War in June 1949.
In 1952, he went to Tokyo, where he was sent to work at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, or MASH, Unit.
He returned to New York to finish his residency before serving at Great Lakes Naval Hospital near Chicago, where he cared for soldiers' wives.
He decided then to become an obstetrician and gynecologist because, according to his daughter, Claudia Johnson, 48, of Milwaukee, "After fixing people in Korea, he wanted to bring life into the world."
That led Reinhardt to start the first "unwed mothers" wing at St. Vincent's in 1953. He later opened a private practice at his home in Westbury. In the late 1970s, he began a practice with Dr. James Nicolas at Glen Cove Community Hospital.
They worked together more than 40 years. Reinhardt retired in 2005 to care for his ill wife, who died about 2008.
He also liked to spend time with his family. "When he was with his kids, he was at his happiest," Johnson said.
In addition to his wife, Reinhardt was predeceased by two sons, Douglas and Bruce Reinhardt; and one grandchild.
He is survived by his sons, Michael, 60, of Syosset and Brian Reinhardt, 50, of Bayville; another daughter, Boria Noll, 56, of Coram; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
His funeral was held at the Oyster Bay Funeral Home with a mass at St. Dominic's RC Chapel in Oyster Bay. He was buried at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury.
Donations can be made to The Amsterdam at Harborside, 300 East Overlook, Port Washington, NY 11050.
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