Gilbert Snyder MD May 18, 1930 - January 20, 2022

Miami, Florida

Gilbert Bernard.

Physician, Community Leader, Husband and Father.

Gil came to Miami from Johns Hopkins to be the University of Miami’s first Chief of Plastic Surgery in 1964, then for three and a half decades was in full-time private practice of plastic and reconstructive surgery in Miami until his retirement in 2000.

Gil’s father Samuel Snyder died in Bataan in the Philippines in World War II, and Gil was raised by his mother with the help of their extended family. He sold newspapers and worked after school in the Public Library, one of the jobs he loved the most. He attended public high school, where on a lark he applied to Johns Hopkins University and was accepted on scholarship.

Tall, handsome, and naturally charming, Gil was elected president of his freshman class and in the words of one classmate, “took Hopkins by storm.” He intended to study history, but was advised by relatives to do something

- Snyder, more practical. So mid-way through college he started taking science courses, and on graduating in 1952 he was admitted to Hopkins’ famed School of Medicine.

Gil remained a loyal and enthusiastic Hopkins alumnus his entire life. While at Hopkins he met Natalie Freiman (Goucher ‘54), and they began dating seriously when she was a senior in college and he was a medical student. They married in 1954.

After medical school, Gil served as a resident on Hopkins’ legendary Halstead surgical service, then won a National Science Foundation grant to do skin transplantation research at St. Antoine Hospital in Paris. He returned to Hopkins as a fellow in plastic surgery under pioneering surgeon Milton Edgerton, during a period of rapid advancement in the field.

Immediately after completing his training, Gil was recruited to be the University of Miami’s first Chief of Plastic Surgery in 1964. He developed a national reputation for surgical excellence and innovation, authored several papers and book chapters on plastic surgical technique, and mentored and encouraged younger surgeons in the community. He developed a special interest in the emotional care of plastic surgical patients and often lectured on this subject.

Gil gave generously of his time and knowledge, performing and teaching plastic and reconstructive surgery in Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia,

and for several years as a volunteer physician with Navajo and Hopi communities in Arizona through the Indian Health Service.

A lifelong movie buff, Gil often spoke of having spent his entire childhood at the movies. After graduating from college, he hitchhiked to California and was offered a Hollywood screen test, but instead decided to return to Baltimore to start medical school.

Later, in his 40’s, Gil did take up the serious study of acting, and he briefly had a side profession as an actor in radio and TV commercials. One series of commercials he made for the Miami Dade Transit Authority ran for several years. When VHS movie recording was invented, Gil never ceased to thrill at being able to watch movies any time he pleased, and he soon filled up all the closets in the family’s Pinecrest home with VHS tapes.

A naturally gifted vocalist, Gil performed with his high school Glee Club at the White House for President Truman, and later was a soloist with the Hopkins Glee Club. He could always be counted on to remember the words to a folk song, Broadway tune, or classic torch song.

Gil had an unusually wide range of other interests as well. He painted, sculpted in clay and stone, had a vast collection of books, and briefly taught religious school at Temple Beth Am in Pinecrest. Gil was a fitness buff long before it was popular. He lifted weights, ran three Miami Marathons, rock-climbed in the Rockies, hiked with Natalie all over Europe, rafted through the Grand Canyon. After Gil retired, he took classes in the English and History Departments at the University of Miami, taught reading in the public schools, and served as a Guardian ad Litem for foster children. There was always something else to learn, to share, to discover.

Gil took great pride in Natalie’s career as a social worker, therapist, and community leader; his daughter Hillary’s many years of service as an attorney for the U.S. Dept. of Justice; and his sons Stephen and Michael’s careers as doctors and authors. He loved his family deeply.

Gil is survived by Natalie, his wife of 67 years; his children Stephen, Hillary, and Michael; his daughters-inlaw Bluma and Jessica; his son-in-law Deane; and his grandchildren Eli, Sage, Julian, Lily, and Peyton – all of whom look back with joy on the years they spent with him, with sadness at his passing, and with gratitude for having been privileged to know and love him.

Due to COVID restrictions, private services for the family will be held Sunday, January 23 at Mt. Nebo Memorial Gardens Kendall.

Contributions in Gil’s memory can be made to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine at hopkinsmedicine.org/support/ or a charity of your choice.