Henry (Hank) O. Kandler passed away on March 17, 2023, after a brief illness. He was 93 years old, and had remained active in teaching psychiatry, mentoring younger practitioners, participating in a forty-year book group, and corresponding with friends old and new until his final days. He died surrounded by his loving family.
Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Hank was sent with his brother, Gerry, to England on the Kindertransport just prior to World War II. The boys were able to reunite with their parents, Grete and Rudy, five years later in Philadelphia, where both finished high school and went on to Antioch College in Ohio. Throughout his life, Hank spoke about his college years with warmth and enthusiasm, attributing his lifelong social justice work to his activism there. He also met his wife of more than 60 years, Judith (Judy) Wilson, class of 1956, at Antioch, where they shared friends, an interest in psychology, a love of classical music, and folk dancing.
Hank married Judy in 1956, and the young couple moved to Chicago so he could attend medical school at the University of Chicago. Judy discovered her love for pottery and painting at the Chicago Art Institute. Hank then did his residency in psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
Hank loved his career as a psychiatrist with a thriving private practice on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and as a teacher and mentor at Einstein for more than 60 years. In 2003, he received the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Award for outstanding clinical teaching and supervision. He was founding director of the school consultation service at Bronx High School of Science, and taught a course on legal issues in psychiatry at Cordozo School of Law. Einstein has created an endowed annual lecture in his name.
In his free time, Hank was an avid skier, sailor and fisherman. He traveled the world pursuing these activities, notably in the Swiss Alps, the Caribbean, and Truro, on Cape Cod. He revived his German skills, and rekindled old (and forged new) meaningful relationships in his home city of Stuttgart. He loved reading, writing fiction and memoir, and spending time with his wife, his children, Jennifer, Michael and Sara, and his seven grandchildren. He will be missed tremendously.
Donations in Hank's name to the following organizations would be greatly appreciated:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
https://www.einsteinmed.edu/giving/kandler/
American Civil Liberties Union
https://action.aclu.org/give/now?redirect=node/65102
