Gerald Deas, a longtime physician and faculty member at the State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University, passed away on January 18. He was 94 years old.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Deas earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biochemistry from Brooklyn College. After serving in the Korean War, he earned a master of public health degree from the University of Michigan and his medical degree from SUNY Downstate, where he was one of three African Americans in his graduating class. He then completed an internship and residency in international medicine at Kings County Hospital.
For several decades, Dr. Deas served on the faculty of preventative medicine at SUNY Downstate and as an attending physician at Jamaica Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens. He also served as a director of health education communication at SUNY Downstate and hosted “Health Center,” a cable television show produced on campus. Dr. Deas retired from the university in 2018 after 50 years of service.
Dr. Deas wrote health and wellness columns for both the Amsterdam News and the New York Daily News, and spent 10 years as a medical correspondent for the McCreary Report. In addition to his medical writing, Dr. Deas was a poet and playwright.
Rest well in paradise.
What a giant of a man…brilliant doctor, gracious caring man. I and my late husband were priviledged to be a member of Springfield Gardens United Methodist Church.
Condolences to his lovely family. Rest Well.
He was a great man, totally dedicated to the uplift of the community.