Story submitteD by: nina Korelitz Matza
Simon Korelitz
Photo: Simon Korelitz
My great grandfather Simon Korelitz immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus in 1888 at age 21. He was a peddler who settled in Haverhill, Mass. and had 7 children, one of which was my father's father Sam. Sam moved to the slightly nicer town of Lawrence, where he and his wife Ada owned and operated the town hardware store on Main St. Their son, my father, Burton I. Korelitz, went to Duke University and B.U. Medical School, moved to NYC and went on to become a leader in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, caring for patients, training young physicians, editing and writing textbooks, publishing over 300 research studies. He served 30 years as Chief of the Section of Gastroenterology at Lenox Hill Hospital and was Professor of Medicine Emeritus at Hofstra/ Northwell. A classic peddler-to-world-renowned-physician story in 3 generations. I am grateful to Simon for his bravery in leaving home and starting a new life in a foreign country. I am grateful to Sam for raising my father with the good values and sense of responsibility that led him to become a scientist, teacher, healer and an amazing human being.
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