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Dr. Ronald Halweil
Dr. Ronald “Ron” Halweil died on May 30 at home in Southampton, surrounded by family. He was 80.
He was born on a steamy summer solstice afternoon in 1942, in Brooklyn. He grew up near Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and attended primary, secondary, and graduate schools within a few miles of his birthplace.
Halweil received his medical degree at Downstate Medical University in Brooklyn. He completed his internship at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York, and was selected for a special general surgery residency program at The Queen’s Hospital in Honolulu. He then returned to New York City for his ear, nose and throat, and facial plastic surgery residency at the prestigious New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he was chief resident. He opened a private practice in Middletown, New York, and served the community for many years. In 1974, he married Meri Konecky and they had two children, Brian and Erika.
In the 1980s, Halweil shifted his private practice to New York City and Bayonne, New Jersey, serving the communities for over 25 years. Throughout his medical career, he continued to teach the residents at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary until retiring in 2019 at age 78. He always thought teaching was a great joy and honor, his family said, noting that he took great pride in participating in the long tradition of sharing the surgical and medical wisdom he had acquired. He never stopped exploring the miraculous nature of health and disease, they said.
Halweil was an avid learner, according to his family. As a young boy, he scoured the shelves of his local library consuming books on physics, biology, history, and philosophy. He published several articles, letters to the editor, and books, including “Eat This: If We’re So Smart, Why Do We Gain Weight and Get Sick?” and a memoir, “Fifty Years a Doctor: The Journey of Sickness and Health, Four Plagues and the Pandemic.”
He was also a painter, photographer, poet and jewelry maker.
Halweil loved to swim, hike, explore, and forage in natural settings: making tea from the flowers of sumac trees and herbs from his garden, picking berries, and sharing mustard greens and other vegetables that he grew. He was a lifelong fisherman, putting fish on the table for family and friends, whether fried snapper filets, herring, milt and roe, striped bass, blue fish, and anything else he pulled out the sea, including sea vegetables and greens. Among his favorite fishing spots were Towd Point and Shinnecock Inlet, as well as beaches from Southampton to Amagansett and Montauk.
Halweil fell in love with Jamaica starting in the 1970s and would take family and friends every year to experience the incredible and soulful lifestyle. Filling his days and nights with fruits and vegetables, warm, tropical air, music and dance, and loving, welcoming people.
He had great reverence for the importance of family and love, and considered them indispensable to good health. He believed in the power of healing through a balanced lifestyle: healthy eating, regular exercise, proper rest, and time in nature. He treated and cared for tens of thousands of patients over the years in New York City, Bayonne, J, and beyond.
He was predeceased by his parents, Claire and Herbert Halweil. He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Meri Halweil; his son, Brian Halweil; his daughter, Erika Halweil; their spouses, Sarah Halweil and Corey DeRosa of Sag Harbor; his sister, Thoughtful Israel of Arlington, Washington; grandchildren Milla, Clio, Cyrus, and Neelu; as well as nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Staff Writer on Aug 15, 2023