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Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Max Frederick Finkel
Dr. Max Frederick Finkel, beloved husband of Betty and father of David, Jodi, and Wendy passed away at the age of 89 on February 19, 2025. Max, whose father had been a doctor before him, knew he wanted to be a doctor from an early age. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his medical degree from the University of Illinois Chicago.
Upon graduating, Max interned at Cook County Hospital, where he had many adventures from 1959 to 1960 which instilled in him a deep commitment to publicly-funding medical and emergency care. After completing his internship, Max voluntarily joined the Air Force’s medical corps, serving at the Roswell Airforce Base in New Mexico, spending three months as a Flight Surgeon on B-52s.
On a leave of absence in Chicago in August 1961, Max was set up on a blind date with Betty Berman. After many letters, and a total of eight dates, Max proposed to Betty and they were married on December 30, 1961. Max and Betty moved to Oakland, California where Max took up his surgical residency from 1962-1966. Their first child, David, was born in 1965. The Finkel family moved to Woodland Hills, California in August 1966, and Max opened his general surgery practice at West Hills Hospital. Daughters Jodi and Wendy followed in 1967 and 1968.
Dr. Max and Betty Finkel and Dr. Jordan R. Wlodarczyk, Inaugural Prize Recipient
Woodland Hills, June 2024
Max maintained a successful surgical practice for 45 years, ultimately retiring at the end of 2018. In addition to his private practice, Max was a volunteer attending surgeon at Los Angeles County General Hospital from 1970 through 1995, spending one Thursday and one Saturday night each month performing emergency surgery on all who came through the emergency room’s doors. Max also taught clinical surgery for two decades at USC’s Keck School of Medicine before retiring as Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery and Senior Attending Surgeon.
Max and his wife Betty established the Wendy Anne Finkel Memorial Scholarship in the Department of Art Studio at UCSB in honor of their daughter who was tragically killed in a vehicle accident in 1987. In 2024, Max and Betty also established the Max and Betty Finkel Prize for Excellence in General Surgery at the Los Angeles General Medical Center to recognize talented residents pursuing general surgery practice.
Max enjoyed gourmet food, fine wines, cigars, sports cars, deep sea and fly fishing, and European travel. He loved surrealist art and classical music (Max believed all music created after 1954 was merely noise). He loved dogs, and he and his family kept Dalmatians for more than 60 years. He was an avid reader of espionage and mystery novels. He loved everything by John Le Carré, Michael Connelly and Daniel Silva. He loved anything that featured Sherlock Holmes. Max was an avid cruciverbalist. In his younger days, Max enjoyed road racing his Austin Healey and flying small planes, having obtained his pilot’s license while completing his medical internship. Max restored his 1960 Austin Healey and ultimately donated it to the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar, where it remains on display. Max was good company, and was a great joke and story-teller, often embellishing his stories with accents as needed.
He will be greatly missed by his surviving family: his wife, Betty, his children, David and Jodi, his brother Eliot, and nieces and nephews Sydney, Peter, Randy, and Holly.
If you would like to honor Max’s life and legacy, donations are gratefully accepted to the Max and Betty Finkel Prize for Excellence in General Surgery at the Los Angeles General Medical Center care of the LAC+USC Medical Center Foundation.
In Honor of Chan Ho Park
On behalf of Chan Ho Park’s family, we are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support for him and for us. Please consider making a donation in his name to the Los Angeles General Hospital Foundation, where he received exceptional care in November. Our father was surrounded by an amazing team of doctors, nurses, and other staff who not only were committed to his care and comfort but also supported the family through tough medical decisions. We would like to honor them and the mission of the hospital with donations from our family and any of our extended family, friends and colleagues who feel so inclined.
Chan Ho Park immigrated to Los Angeles in 1963 and considered LA his home – from getting his university degree to getting married and raising his daughters here, cheering on his beloved Dodgers and Lakers and owning businesses in the city he truly came to love and to consider his home. Chan Ho Park passed away peacefully on November 28, 2024 surrounded by the love of his cherished children and grandchildren.
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- Jenna and Cindy, daughters of Chan Ho Park
Support our Hospital Heroes
Our Hospital Heroes at Los Angeles General Medical Center dedicate themselves to providing world-class care for a world-class community. However, caregiving takes its toll. Please consider donating to support the incredible staff who make our medical center a place of healing and hope. Your tax-deductible donation will help fund:
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Mental and emotional support services
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Employee wellness programs
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Recruitment to ensure the medical center is fully staffed with the best providers and caregivers
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Assistance for personnel who have experienced the loss of their home due to the January 2025 wildfires (please designate "wildfires" in your donation note)
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