Bernard Silber
1911-April 20, 2010
Atherton, California
Dr. Bernard Silber, a 54-year resident of Atherton, died March 20 at the age of 98.
Dr. Silber practiced internal medicine and cardiology in Redwood City and at Sequoia Hospital and Stanford Medical Center.After World War II, he and four medical colleagues from Dibble Hospital opened the Sequoia Medical Group in Redwood City. During his practice, he frequently made house calls. When asked what kind of physician he was, he always answered "an RD (real doctor)," say family members.
Born in Baltimore, Dr. Silber grew up working in his parents' bakeries. During the Great Depression, people lined up in front of the bakery, where the Silbers gave bread to families in need.
Dr. Silber was educated at Baltimore City College, the University of Maryland, and the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He completed five years of medical residence.
He met his future wife, Bernice Garrett, a medical social worker, while completing his medical residency at Los Angeles County Hospital. They were married in 1942. During World War II, Dr. Silber served as a captain in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in the South Pacific and at Dibble Hospital in Menlo Park.
The Silbers settled first in Palo Alto and later built their home in Atherton. The redwood and glass house was surrounded by open space and horse pastures. Dr. Silber loved gardening, chopping wood, and maintaining a vast compost operation in his backyard, say family members. Dr. Silber was interested in the relationship of diet, exercise, and smoking to heart disease, and he preached a healthy lifestyle. He swam competitively with the Rinconada Masters Swim team in Palo Alto for 30 years, working out three times a week and winning many medals.
He was also a calligrapher, and a student of etymology and several languages, including Yiddish, his first language.
He is survived by his children, Jenny Silber Butah of Watsonville, Katy Silber of Berkeley, and Mark Silber of Menlo Park; brothers Sidney Silber and Dr. Earle Silber; sister Evelyn Krohn; 11 grandchildren; and 15 nieces and nephews.
Tags: public service
