June Jackson Christmas, MD  1924-2024

June Jackson Christmas, a psychiatrist who broke barriers as a Black woman by heading New York City’s Department of Mental Health and Retardation Services under three mayors, died on Sunday in the Bronx. She was 99.

Her pioneering career has been detailed in a New York Times obituary that can be found here. 

Seymour Gers, MD 1930-2023

GERS--Seymour. age 92, passed away peacefully on September 22, 2023 after progressive dementia. Beloved husband of Christine Goodwin, stepfather to Alexander (Melissa) Goodwin, and Carrie Goodwin (Doug) Elwood. Loving father of Glenn (Jennifer) Gers and Melissa Gers (Rosendo) Rodriguez, children from his first marriage to Joan Gers. Devoted grandfather to Harry Gers, step-grandfather to Jackson, Shawn and Darren. Born, raised and schooled in Brooklyn, he graduated Brooklyn College, B.S. Cum Laude, and SUNY Downstate Medical School. After serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps he became a certified psychiatrist with a private practice as well as leadership roles in out-patient and in-patient units of Kings County Hospital Center, Harlem Hospital Center, Manhattan Psychiatric Center and Maimonides Medical Center. He enjoyed interacting with students as Director of Medical Education at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, and at St. George's University school of Medicine in Granada. As the representative of the Brooklyn Psychiatric Society (Kings County District Branch) of the APA he was active in the APA for 27 years. He was a longtime leader of the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians, New York Chapter. A prolific author, his essays and articles were published in over a dozen journals, including The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, Psychiatric Annals, Psychiatric News, The Psychiatric Times, The Bulletin of the American Society of Psychoanalytic Physicians and The New York Times. He was also interviewed regarding psychiatric issues in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Elle Magazine, The New York Observer and Newsday. Sy was a loyal friend, a passionate advocate for many causes, with a curious mind, and wonderful sense of humor, and eclectic sense of adventure, taking up hot air ballooning and Irish set dancing.

Paul Mosher, MD - 1936-2021

Mosher, Dr. Paul W. M.D. VOORHEESVILLE Dr. Paul W. Mosher M.D., 84, died on September 14, 2021, in Albany. He was a dedicated practitioner of psychoanalysis and made major contributions to the field, including advances in patient confidentiality and in the digitization of the psychoanalytic literature.

Neal Borenstein, MD - 1945-2021

Neal Borenstein, MD, died on September 2, 2021, in Portland, OR, in the same way he lived his life –quietly and contentedly, surrounded by those who loved him dearly, his wife, Gerri Borenstein; daughter, Dana Alley; son, Jeffrey Bloom; and his dog, Winston. A self-effacing man with a wry sense of humor, Neal was tall in stature and a gentle giant in his field of psychiatry.