DR. HANS SHURMAN
DEXTER and DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - Dr. Hans Shurman, 96, a resident of Dexter and Delray Beach, Fla., died Aug. 7, 2004, in Dexter. He was born in Werl, Westphalia, Germany, the son of Emil and Frieda (Stern) Shurman, who perished in the Holocaust. A graduate of the University of Bonn and its medical school, he came to the United States in 1937, after having served an internship and residency at the Jewish Hospital in Berlin. He served an internship at St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston, and settled in Dexter in 1940, where he practiced for 40 years. During World War II, he served as a Captain with the 10th Armored Division and found himself back in Germany when the war in Europe ended in 1945. But in August 1945, he shipped out of Marseilles, France, to participate in the invasion of Japan. The ship was just short of the Panama Canal, when the Atomic Bomb was dropped and Japan surrendered and he came home to Newport News, Va. He was a member of the American Medical Assn., the Maine Medical Assn. from which he received his 50-year pin in 1983. He was also a charter fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. A long-time member of the Dexter Club, the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, he was an avid gardener, furniture refinisher and golfer. He enjoyed the latter until recently.

He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Ruth; two daughters and their husbands, Betsy and John Brod of New York, Valerie and Steven Silverman of West Palm Beach, Fla.; as well as four grandchildren, Seth and Jenny Brod, Aimee and Michael Silverman. He also leaves many devoted patients and friends who have helped the Shurman family to love Maine for so many years.

Funeral services were held 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8, at the Jewish Chapel, Bangor, with Rabbi David Cantor officiating. Interment will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Cedar Parks Cemetery, Emerson, N.J. Gifts in his memory may be sent to the Dexter Historical Society, P.O. Box 481, Dexter, ME 04930, or Congregation Beth Israel, 144 York St., Bangor, ME 04401, or the Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine, care of Sharon Nichols, P.O. Box 4645, Augusta, ME 04330. A service of Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor.