Tributes

Elliot Weser, M.D., died peacefully at home on Friday, March 26, 2021, at the age of 89. He is survived by his loving wife of 33 years, Marcia Goren Weser, his son Stephen Weser, and step-daughters Sara Solon (Robert) Ellman of San Jose, CA, and Leah Solon (David) Streem of Cleveland, OH, and grandchildren Marcus Streem, Sophie Ellman, and Kayla Streem, and numerous cousins. He was predeceased by his first wife, Deborah Auerbach, in 1985. A private burial will be held at the Temple Chai cemetery within Mission Park North off IH 10 on Monday, March 29. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date via Zoom. Born to Dorothy and Charles Weser in the Bronx, NY, he graduated Columbia College in 1953 with an A.B. in Liberal Arts and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in 1957. He trained in gastroenterology at Cornell Medical Center, NY; University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA; and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY. He spent a year of service at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. In 1967 he came to San Antonio as Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, one of the founding faculty of the then-new medical school, UTHSCSA. He was Deputy Chairman of the Dept. of Medicine and Chief of Medicine at the Audie Murphy VA Hospital. He published over 250 scholarly articles, textbook chapters, and presentations as an academic researcher in gastroenterology and nutrition. His research into lactose intolerance is still cited today in medical literature. He retired in 2006 as Emeritus Professor. Dr. Weser served as the President of the Boards of Golden Manor Jewish Home for the Aged, the Carver Cultural Center, and Temple Chai, a Reform Jewish congregation, of which he was one of the 12 Founding Members in 2004. He was one of six founders of the San Antonio Wheelmen, the premier cycling group and was given Lifetime Member #1 in 2012. In 1987 the Arthritis Foundation gave him the Distinguished Physician Award and the Bexar County Medical Society Foundation honored his contribution to the Art and Science of Medicine in 2017. After his retirement, Elliot was twice elected to Alamo Heights City Council, serving from 2010-2014, during the construction of the new City Hall on Broadway. He served with the determination to uphold the highest ethical standards of public service. His love of Alamo Heights led him to be one of the founders of the Alamo Heights Neighborhood Association. He received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. An avid pilot, he earned a Commercial/Instrument rating and logged over 7,000 hours, flying to Mexico, Canada and throughout the U.S. in his 1978 Mooney. He loved flying to Rockport, where he sailed a 27’ Southcoast or up to Rocksprings to hunt with his buddies each November. Elliot’s character was defined by many things: it was his innate curiosity about the world, his love of learning, his joy in teaching and the passing on of knowledge, his commitment to Tikkun Olam, the idea of helping to heal the world, and his belief in the principle that all humanity is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, deserving of dignity and esteem. And all of these characteristics permeated both his professional and personal life. In his capacity as a physician, he was a healer, a skilled diagnostician and clinician. Very often he would be asked by friends or family to recommend a doctor for particular symptoms; he’d ask for more information, and then recommend a name. Mindful of professional courtesy, he always called that doctor’s office first, to alert her or him about the potential patient’s future call, or to assure that the patient could be seen promptly. He had a knack for matching the right person to the right doctor, sensing temperament and personalities that would “work” best together. He believed that while science is important, it was the art of medicine that played a key role in healing. Elliot passed this art on to the many physicians he trained over the years; always counseling them to respect the humanity of their patients. He learned to speak Spanish, with a New York accent, to better connect with the diverse population of San Antonio and Texas as a whole. When rounding as the attending physician at the county hospital with students and interns, he would remind his trainees that these patients, many of them indigent citizens for whom this was the only place they could access care, needed doctors-in-training who were courteous and respectful. That despite any cultural, economic or language differences, they, by their dress, manners, speech and even grooming, should assuage fears, give comfort and encourage hope. For Elliot, a physician’s behavior should model these values, and if his trainees did not, he was known to send them away to correct any “faults” they might exhibit. Ever the diplomat, Elliot was a mentor to his peers as well as his students. He was free with advice, and he would intervene in situations when he thought his guidance would help. As a supervisor he was supportive yet practical and effective. His 20 years running the Medicine Service at the VA in concert with its then-illustrious Director, created a model institution in the national VA system. Elliot loved to travel, to explore, to learn: he delighted in discovery everywhere. He travelled widely with his wife Marcia (both in his beloved Mooney aircraft and commercially), with his son Stephen, and later with his step-daughters, Sara and Leah. He loved to watch Stephen act in many local theatre productions over the years. With Marcia and the entire family, he enjoyed the diverse dining, cultural and musical events in San Antonio. He was an accomplished home cook, preparing and measuring ingredients, setting up his mis en place, as if it were a scientific experiment. Saba, as he was called by his “Grands,” took great pleasure in accompanying Marcus, Sophie, and Kayla to a wide range of Fiesta events whenever they visited, and exploring their hometowns of Cleveland and San Jose when he would visit them with Marcia. And finally, he loved the San Antonio Spurs and embraced “Go Spurs Go” along with his adopted hometown. His Jewish faith has always played a key part in his life. As a young boy, Elliot joined his grandfather in donning T’fillin (phylacteries) for prayers. When he became a Bar Mitzvah at 13, he delivered his speech in Hebrew. When he and Marcia led Shabbat services at Golden Manor or Temple Chai, Elliot would research the weekly Torah portion and write a d’var (explication) on its relevance to our lives, in the past and in the present. Elliot delighted in leading the annual Seder each Passover at home. During the meal, Elliot would always ask each guest about their earliest memories of family. He loved tracing people’s ancestors and noting, “Thus we are closer to that seminal event of the Exodus and escaping slavery for freedom than we might imagine – it was not so far back in time.” Elliot was a kind, humble, sometimes funny man. All he did, he did joyfully and lovingly. Ever a healer, he worked to fix our broken world wherever he could. We can honor his legacy by living as well and as fully as he did. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in his memory to the Elliot Weser, M.D. Lecture Series at UT Health San Antonio, or the Carver Cultural Center, or San Antonio Jewish Senior Services. -30- HIGH FLIGHT by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Oh, I have slipped the surly bounds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things you have not dreamed of; Wheeled and Soared and swung high in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious burning blue I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Tributes

Elliot Weser, M.D.

January 12, 1932 - March 26, 2021