Obituary

Dr. Arnold "Arny" Alton Schwartz, 75, passed away peacefully on Thursday October 27, 2022 at Salemtowne following a long illness. Arny was the only child of Charles and Ravea (Spielvogel) Schwartz. He was born on April 20,1947 in Brooklyn, NY and was raised in Queens, NY. Arny attended the prestigious and selective Stuyvesant High School, in Manhattan, NY. He then went on to Harpur College - SUNY Binghamton where he received his B.S. degree in biology. At Binghamton, Arny met his wife, Irene Lichter. Irene was a freshman and Arny a junior. Following their first date Irene went back to her dorm room and told her roommate that she was going to marry him. Arny never had a chance and they married three years later. They married while Arny was in medical school and had a wonderful marriage for 52 years. From Binghamton he attended the University of Kentucky School of Medicine. The young couple traveled to Gainesville, Florida for Arny to complete an internal medicine internship. Upon completion of Arny's internship they drove back to Lexington, KY for Arny to start his ophthalmology residency. On this return trip to KY, Arny and Irene had a very special extra passenger, their five-day-old newborn son, Adam.

 

After a trip through North Carolina in the mid-1970's, Arny and Irene decided to settle in Winston-Salem after Arny completed his training. They knew no one in the city and Arny opened a solo private general ophthalmology practice. The practice was opened on 7/7/77. Those must have been lucky numbers as the practice thrived, and with hard work, great knowledge, skill, and incredible business sense, Arny practiced for over 30 years, until his retirement in 2008. Arny was instrumental in building the Hawthorne Outpatient Surgical Center and was chairman of the board for many years.

 

Arny had a great love of sports, both as a spectator and participant. He was a devoted member of the Deacon Club and attended Wake Forest home football and basketball games for over 40 years. Arny played full-court basketball into his 50's. He was on the SUNY-Binghamton baseball team for two years. He had to make a decision between being a baseball player or being pre-med. He found himself completing physics labs on night bus rides back to school after games. He knew he probably was not going to have a career in baseball and reluctantly retired from the team. He did play on the Temple Emanuel softball team for years. He played in a weekly recreational pickup basketball game, lifted weights and exercised twice weekly until his final hospitalization two weeks prior to entering Salemtowne. He ran several times a week. Arny loved playing golf, and was able to fulfill a lifelong dream by traveling to England and Scotland to play on the famed golf courses in these countries. Arny taught his sons to golf and always said that a perfect day on the golf course was when he played with his own foursome, himself and his three sons. Arny taught his sons and neighborhood boys to play "stick ball." This is a game played in New York City that involved a cut-off broomstick and a tennis-sized ball. Of course, the game is played in the street. The Southern youngsters grew to love this Northern sport and Arny loved being their "coach".

 

Arny is survived by his wife Irene, sons Adam (Heather), Joshua (Melanie), Abraham, and daughter Emily (Jon Kapit). His grandfather name is Gramps (sometimes Grampsy) and his seven amazing grandchildren are Michael, Aliana, Coleman, Abigail, Samantha, Hali, and Solomon.

 

May his memory be for a blessing.

 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trellis Supportive Care, 101 Hospice Lane, Finance, Winston-Salem, NC 27103 or to Temple Emanuel, on memo line "Rabbi's Discretionary Fund", 201 Oakwood Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.