Obituary of Wolfram, Dr. Julius J.

Wolfram, Julius, M.D. Born July 25, 1912 in New York City and a 66- year resident of Dallas, Dr. Julius Wolfram passed away peacefully on March 16 surrounded by his family at Baylor Hospital after a short illness. Dr. Wolfram was a distinguished physician who practiced internal medicine and cardiology for half a century and was a long-serving member on the staffs of both Baylor and Gaston Hospitals. After retirement from private practice, Dr. Wolfram continued his devotion to the art and practice of medicine with part-time medical service for the rest of his life. Dr. Wolfram enjoyed the gift of intellect and curiosity. After graduating from Townsend Harris High School for the Talented and Gifted in New York City, he entered Columbia College at age16. He received his medical training at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in the depths of the depression in 1936. Dr. Wolfram completed his internship at Lennox Hill Hospital and residency at Montefiore Hospital, both in New York City, and then became a fellow at Mt. Sinai Hospital, working with the renowned physician Dr. Paul Klemperer in research in pathology. After a brief period of medical service with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Tennessee, he joined the staff of the Veterans Hospital in Hampton, Virginia. There he met his beloved Rhea Mirmelstein, who became his wife in June 1942 and to whom he remained devoted for the rest of his life. After joining the Army Medical Corps with the rank of Captain, he served during World War II with the 3rd and 5th Ferrying Divisions, Air Transport Command of the Army Air Corps in Romulus, Michigan and Dallas Texas, and received specialized training in tropical diseases at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. At the end of the war, he was chief of medicine at the 5th Ferrying Command at Love Field in Dallas, where he was discharged from the service with the rank of Major in 1946. Charmed with the opportunities and way of life offered by the young city of Dallas, Dr. Wolfram and his young wife decided to settle permanently. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Wolfram became affiliated with the new Southwestern Medical School as a member of the clinical faculty. He later became a clinical professor of medicine at Southwestern, where he continued to attend Grand Rounds until well into his 90s. He loved teaching and leaves many doctors who learned from his infectious and deep knowledge. He was a Diplomate of the American College of Physicians as well as a member of the AMA, the Texas and Dallas County Medical Societies and the Dallas Internists Club. A man of deep culture and learning, Dr. Wolfram chose Dallas as home in part because of the rich cultural life that thrived already in the 1940s and that he enjoyed until his final days. While his interests were for all forms of arts, his greatest love was for classical music and opera. He rarely missed a performance of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, for which he also served as a member of the board of trustees. He was also a President of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. He spent many of his happiest hours attending chamber music concerts at SMU. He was a long-time supporter of the Dallas Museum of Art, the Kimball Museum, the Meadows Art Museum, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Dallas Theater Center, the Dallas Civic Opera, and the Tate Lecture Series. Over the last decade, he took great pleasure in the special cinematic presentations of the Metropolitan Opera. He was a great lover of nature, whether in the wilds of Minnesota, Canada, Lake Possum Kingdom or his own backyard. Ornithology was an abiding passion from the time of his youth, when he spent days birding in the environs of New York City with his brother and friends. He loved hiking and was an avid tennis player and golfer. After retiring from private practice, Dr. Wolfram travelled with his wife to China, Japan, Israel, Egypt and widely though Europe. He brought the broader world into his home in 1962-63 when he and his family hosted the late Professor Louis-Andr