Dr. Bernard Passman of West Hartford, CT, beloved husband of Marlene (Ganezer) Passman for 48 years, has passed away, Friday, December 25, 2009, after a brief illness, surrounded by his loving family. Dr. Passman was a prominent physician in Obstetrics and Gynocology in the greater Hartford area. Born in Portland, Maine, he was the son of the late Abraham and Bertha Passman who were first generation immigrants from Lutz, Poland. As a youth, Dr. Passman played football and worked in his father’s haberdashery store, Congress Street Men’s Shop, in downtown Portland. Dr. Passman graduated from Portland High School and obtained his B.A. at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME in 1955. He loved his alma mater and enjoyed visiting it as both an alumni and parent, as both of his children attended Bowdoin as well. Following college, Dr. Passman went to the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, VT where he received his Medical Degree in 1959. After medical school, Dr. Passman trained in both General Surgery and specialty training in Obstetrics/Gynocology at Bellevue Medical Center in New York City from 1959-1963. He was board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Passman enrolled in the U.S. Air Force Berry Plan for Physicians with the rank of Captain, and was stationed in Alconbury, England and Izmir, Turkey where he practiced his specialty. Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Passman began private practice in Hartford, CT in 1966 and had been practicing OB-GYN for 45 years to legions of patients. His kind manner, honest approach, diagnostic and technical skills served his patients well and it was not uncommon for him to care for multiple generations of women. Dr. Passman was an active member of Beth El Temple in West Hartford. He served on numerous committees at Mount Sinai Hospital and was an active staff member at Mount Sinai, Hartford Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and the University of Connecticut Medical Center. Dr. Passman was also a member of the Bowdoin College 1794 Society. Dr. Passman was once interviewed by The Hartford Courant years ago about how he would measure his success. He said, ?My first impulse is to answer that based on my profession, but success is really your own self-perception and doesn’t really depend on what other people think. I think I probably didn’t feel I was going to succeed until I became independent from all my training programs and I was really on my own. Then I was measuring success by peer approval and by patient acceptance of what I was doing for them&. practicing in an ethical, thoughtful and conscientious manner. As you mature in your profession, people’s confidence in you as a colleague-sending their families to you to take care of-is a sign of success. But that’s just professional success. There’s an aspect of your personal life when you think you’re succeeding, when you feel you’re raising your kids to be ethical people. You’re doing something right when the kids turn out well.?
Dr. Passman’s true love was his wife of 48 years, Marlene (Ganezer) Passman. Together, they shared a wonderful life of travel, a love of music, theater, the arts and family. His family was his pride and joy, as indicated by the countless photos he would surround himself with and the way he lit up whenever he saw any of his grandchildren. He also enjoyed walking, fishing, fixing things, reading and volunteering with at-risk youth to develop their literacy skills. Besides his wife, Dr. Passman is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Marc Passman and Cora (Best) Passman of Birmingham, Alabama; by a daughter and son-in-law, Michelle (Passman) Parven and Andrew Parven of Natick, MA, and by five grandchildren, Corinne, Isabelle and Emerson Passman, and William and Jane Parven. He is pre-deceased by his sister, Anne Woolf of Brookline, MA and survived by his brother, Howard Passman of Stoughton, MA, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held Monday, December 28, 2009 at 1:00 PM in the Sanctuary of Beth El Temple, 2626 Albany Avenue, West Hartford with Rabbi James Rosen officiating. Interment will follow in Beth El Temple Cemetery, Avon. A memorial period will be observed at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Passman on Monday following the interment until 8pm, Tuesday, December 29th from 2-4pm and 7-9pm, and Wednesday, December 30th from 2-4pm and 7-9pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Passman’s memory may be made to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund at Beth El Temple in West Hartford, or to the Department of OB-GYN at Hartford Hospital, or to Bowdoin College Alumni Fund, or to a charity of your choice. Arrangements are entrusted to Weinstein Mortuary, Hartford. For further information, directions, or to share memories of Dr. Passman with his family, please visit online at www.weinsteinmortuary.com.
