Dr. E. Joseph (Joe) Charny
CHARNY: Dr. E. Joseph (Joe) Charny, a long-time resident of Pittsburgh, died in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 10, 2023 due to complications of a stroke, compounded by Alzheimer’s disease. He was 95 years old. Born in Philadelphia in 1927, Joe was the middle of three sons of first-generation immigrants from Odessa in tsarist Russia. After serving in the U.S. Army in Italy in the immediate aftermath of World War II, Joe graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College and received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1954 he and his wife Peggy, whom he met at Swarthmore, moved to Pittsburgh where Joe continued his medical studies with a residency and internship in psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Western Psychiatric Institute. Joe taught psychiatry at Pitt medical school and Western Psychiatric for many years, as well as being a psychoanalyst in private practice. After leaving Pitt, he practiced privately full time and then completed his career as director of clinical services at Woodville State Hospital. After his retirement in 1989, Joe devoted the rest of his life to various volunteer causes, notably WQED, the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Community Day School. He became active in the family synagogue, Tree of Life, as a devoted “morning minyanaire,” as well as serving on the board of directors of the congregation, including as board president. Even before retiring, Joe and Peggy were avid international travelers, including a landmark 1979 visit to see her birthplace in China immediately after the country re-opened to international tourism. His photographs of their travels both local and international adorned their homes. Joe was a classical music enthusiast, attending the Pittsburgh Symphony and various chamber music ensembles for many decades. Joe was at Tree of Life preparing for Shabbat services on Oct. 27, 2018, when an antisemitic gunman entered the synagogue, murdering 11 people and wounding others. Joe was able to escape. In the aftermath of the shooting, he gave numerous local and national media interviews reflecting on his experience and was also featured in the documentary “A Tree of Life.” Joe was predeceased by his wife Peggy (2013) and his son David (2000). He is survived by his son Joel (Anne), his daughter Sharon Woschitz (Heinz), two grandchildren and a great grandchild. Services and Interment were private. Those wishing to honor Joe’s memory are encouraged to make donations in his name to the Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU (aclupa.org) or Tree of Life Congregation (treeoflifepgh.org). Arrangements entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., family owned and operated.schugar.com PJC
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