Remembering Our Friend, Dr. Bonnie Sherr
She was everything a physician should be and more. Kind, gentle, brilliant and dedicated to her patients, Dr. Sherr treated each patient as family. She spent many long hours in the office and hospital. After taking over her father’s practice in addition to her own, Bonnie worked two solid years without taking a single day off.
And yet, she always took the time to listen to her patients. Many of them were elderly, and so the medical histories were mixed with personal stories and were often long and involved. Hours after most of the doctors had gone home for the day, Dr. Sherr could be found in the hospital, doing what was necessary for her patients’ well being and always with a gentle word and a smile.
During those extremely busy years, Dr. Sherr still had a heart for the Burnstein clinic. It was a time when we were new, with limited resources, and we often ran out of medications. When Bonnie heard of our dilemma, she was right there, dragging in 2 and 3 large plastic garbage bags, loaded with physician samples. And she never forgot us, always donating bags of samples from her office closet on a regular basis.
As an emergency physician, I periodically ran into patients with problems outside my scope of practice at the clinic. I could always count on Bonnie for guidance and advice. No matter how busy, she was always willing to take the time to discuss our clinic patients with great heart and detail.
Sadly, in July 2006, Dr. Sherr was diagnosed with a rare form of uterine cancer. She underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Even then, Bonnie was willing to help with advice on complicated patients. She continued to donate to the clinic academically and financially even when she was no longer able to practice medicine and was fighting her own illness.
Following a twenty month heroic battle with cancer, Dr.
Sherr died after sunset on the evening of
Shalom, our friend. We will miss you.
Dr. Katherine Pitus
Medical Director