Melvin M. Feldman, 1925-2017

Abstract

Jewish tradition suggests that a headstone be placed as a permanent marker on a grave within a year after a death. Tradition also suggests that the stone be covered until it is unveiled at the end of the first year. I would like this Memoriam to serve as a permanent marker for Dr Melvin M. Feldman, who passed away on May 22, 2017, at his home in Clifton, New Jersey, at the age of 92. Mel was born on March 14, 1925, in New York City. He attended Stuyvesant High School and Queens College. His education at Queens was interrupted by his World War II service in the United States Army, where he was a runner and messenger in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he attended Columbia University College of Dental Medicine from which he received his DDS degree. He obtained his orthodontic training by participating in a preceptorship program in the office of Dr Jacob Salzmann, a renowned clinician and author, before moving to live and practice in Clifton, New Jersey. Professionally, he was a volunteer at the Cleft Lip/Cleft Palate Center of Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, and was a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Orthodontics at the New Jersey Dental School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now the School of Dental Medicine of Rutgers University). He was active in organized orthodontics, acting as president of the New Jersey Association of Orthodontists followed by the presidency of the Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontics in 1986. During his tenure in the New Jersey Association of Orthodontists, he developed and had implemented the orthodontic peer review process for the Medicaid system in New Jersey. Personally, Mel acted as my mentor and friend and urged me to become involved in the New Jersey Association of Orthodontists, Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontists, and American Association of Orthodontists, for which I am extremely grateful. He was an excellent teacher of classical standard edgewise orthodontics in lectures, seminars, and on the clinic floor. He poured the strong foundation for numerous classes of postgraduate students at the New Jersey Dental School and will be warmly remembered by his former students and colleagues. He is survived by his loving wife, Claire; children, Terry, Cecile (dean of the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine), Judith, and Sharon; grandchildren, Bryan, Leah, Sarah, Samuel, Samantha, and Richard; as well as 2 brothers and their wives and many nephews and nieces.