DR. SAMUEL D. AXELRAD
1938-2019
Dr. Samuel D. “Sam” Axelrad, native-born Houstonian and beloved husband, father, uncle, brother, and grandfather, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family (both immediate and extended) in Houston, TX on May 20th, 2019 at the age of 80. Dr. Axelrad is survived by his wife, Charlotte Axelrad; son Chris Axelrad, daughterin-law Sandra, and granddaughters Claudia Haney and Maria Axelrad; son Dr. Larry Baum, daughter-inlaw Cuqui, grandson Owen and granddaughter Ava; and daughter Mrs. Ann Axelrad Goldfarb, son-inlaw Dr. David Goldfarb, and grandsons Max, Will, and Gus Goldfarb; brother Dr. David Axelrad and sister-in-law Carolyn; and sister Sandra Axelrad Bocarra and her late husband Laurent; along with a host of beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews. He is preceded in death by father Jack Harry Axelrad (d. 1959), mother Sylvia Axelrad (d. 1988), and brother Dr. Moise Axelrad (d. 1982). Dr. Axelrad was born on September 2nd, 1938 in Houston, TX to Jack and Sylvia Axelrad. He graduated from Sewanee Military Academy in 1956, followed by his graduation from UTMB Medical School in Galveston in 1964. He enlisted in the Army, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Vietnam as Captain of the First Air Cavalry Forward Medical Command (serving the 1st Brigade), in South Vietnam from 1966 1967, as detailed in his book, Peaceful Bones, released in 2016. After returning from Vietnam, Dr. Axelrad served as a physician at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, after which he returned to Houston and completed his residency in Urology at Baylor College Of Medicine. He married his wife of 41 years, Charlotte Axelrad in Houston in 1978. They successfully raised 3 children together and as of late Sam loved nothing more than spending time with family, especially his 7 grandchildren. Dr. Axelrad was an accomplished physician and surgeon and was legendary for his commitment to compassionate care for all his patients. He was a founding member of Houston Metro Urology and also served as chief-of-staff of the Urology department at Memorial-Hermann Southwest Hospital. An active member of Congregation Brith Shalom for over 40 years, Sam loved Judaism and Jewish life. He served as a mohel for 30+ years as well as studying and teaching Mussar and Jewish Meditation over the last 20 years. Funeral services, officiated by Rabbi Ranon Teller, will be held at 1:30pm on Wed., May 22nd, 2019 at Congregation Brith Shalom, 4610 Bellaire Blvd, with burial to follow at Beth Yeshurun Cemetery, 1037 Post Oak Rd. Shiva minyan will be held Wed. evening May 22nd at 5:30pm at Congregation Brith Shalom as well. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Texas for Heroes (https://texasforheroes.org) or Hoa Binh Peace Village (msavlc.org), or to Congregation Brith Shalom (brithshalom.org). The family would also like to thank Nick Havey, Grant Davis, Marvin Beasley, and Melvin Buck for their care, as well as that staff and doctors at Methodist hospital and Houston Hospice who helped so much over the past few days.