Walter G. Heimann, M.D.

Walter Heimann, M.D. passed away on Saturday, October 17th. He had been suffering from late-stage Parkinson’s Disease. Dr. Heimann was 91. Dr. Heimann spent three decades practicing Radiology in Manchester, CT, affiliated with and at Manchester Memorial Hospital. His path to central Connecticut began in pre-World War II Germany, a path marked by seemingly insurmountable challenges, which he overcame with great courage, hard work and a fierce, lifelong commitment to independence. Dr. Heimann was born in 1928 in the town of Beuthen, then in Upper Silesia, Germany. While Hitler assumed power in 1933, Heimann and his family did not leave Germany until 1939, several months before the start of the war. The family was able to get one of very few visas to travel to what was then called Palestine. The extended family-aunts, uncles and cousins-were separated, but ultimately made their way to the U.S., the U.K., Chile, Australia, and Shanghai. Ten members of the extended family were unable to leave Germany and perished at the hands of the Nazis. Dr. Heimann, like most European Jews of his generation, would spend the rest of his life recognizing that there is nothing of greater value to people than freedom-and he would go on to fight for it. He joined the Hagana-the underground organization dedicated to the defense of the Jewish population of Palestine-in the late 1940s and joined the newly established army in 1948, the year Israel became a state. He continued his service until 1950. Dr. Heimann then left Israel for University and medical school in Bern, Switzerland. He came to the U.S. in the mid-1950s, interning at the Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY, and later completing his residency at Cornell in New York City. It was there he met Rita Krim, a therapeutic dietitian from Boston. They were married for 56 years, until Rita passed away in 2012. Dr. Heimann was proud of his career practicing Radiology and nuclear medicine in Manchester and was an active member of the medical community. He believed strongly in the power of science and was a committed and caring practitioner. He also was proud of his daughter, Gail Heimann McMillan, son-in-law Robin McMillan and granddaughters Madeleine and Lily McMillan, all of New York. He is survived by them and his sister Shulamit Kaplan, of Givatayim, Israel. Another sister, Gerda Matthias of Tel Aviv, Israel, pre-deceased him. The Heimann family is holding a private graveside memorial service at Temple Beth Sholom Memorial Park on Wednesday, October 21st , at 11:30 a.m. Donations in Dr. Walter Heimann’s memory may be made to the Beth Sholom B’nai Israel Synagogue in Manchester, CT, or the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel.

Donations in Dr. Walter Heimann’s memory may be made to the Beth Sholom B’nai Israel Synagogue in Manchester, CT, or the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel.