Eulogy
to Dr. Harry Rubin
Harry Rubin was
more than a first cousin to me. I would call him my half
brother because of our parental genetic linkage: brothers and sisters
who were first cousins married each other I e. His mother and my father were
brother and sister. My mother and his father were sister and brother. All were
first cousins to each other.
His mother died
sometime in the 40th year of her life. My brother and I were constant visitors
to his his parents apartment on Harrison and Davidson
Avenue in the Bronx.
While not particularly
religious, the Rubin family would get together
for a family feast. In the family, he was known as "big Harold" and I
was "little Harold".
Harry
(somewhere along the line he change to Harry instead
of Harold) was approximately 5 years older than me. In my early teen years, I
would look up to him as a model. I would attend the football games his
University, Cornell, played against Columbia University. I was at the very game
that he broke his leg while playing Columbia University.
Prior
to the season that he broke his leg, our families rented a bungalow in Long
Beach, Long Island and Harry spent some time there. We would take daily runs on
the Boardwalk followed by my brother and me. Then a dip into
the ocean to cool off. Then return to our bungalow for a rest. It
was then that I learned of his love of classical music. He would turn on the
classical music station before lying down
He
graduated Cornell with a DVD degree. This was a great surprise to me. Him, a young man from the Bronx, who never had a pet, a
Veterinarian. It was hard to believe. The story of his selection of
Veterinarian school goes something like this. His freshman roommate told him that
NYS students could go to Vet School at Cornell for free. He and his roommate
applied. He was successful, but his roommate did not get accepted.
I
lost contact with him for a period after this, and then learned he was coming
back from Mexico where he went with a number of veterinarians to fight Hoof an Mouth disease in the cattle. Basically, the treatment
called for the slaughter of the cattle. The Mexican farmers reacted to this by
killing a number of veternarians, forcing the rest to
leave Mexico.
This
event stimulated his interest in Public Health and off he went to Public Health
School in Alabama, leading him into a career in virology. He has received one
of the highest research honors, The Lasker Award for
growing the Rous sarcoma in vivo. This also lead to
his being on the short list for a Nobel prize.
I
would see him occasionally when he came to NYC from his home in California. At
some point he had become an Orthodox Jew and we only could serve him a hard boiled egg on a paper plate because of orthodox
dietary restrictions. A great blow for my mother who liked to
cook sumptuous meals.
He
never stopped pursuing interest in cell growth as it relates to cancer, the
role of trace cell elements and various other virology and genetic
interests.
I
visited his lab at Berkeley and found it full of mysterious petri dishes. He
gave me copies of one of his published research
papers that I found hard to read. He patiently spent one hour trying to explain
the process of cells becoming cancerous.
He
became a controversial figure in the scientific community with his stand on the
HIV virus but that never stopped him from his own research.
I
say good by to my half brother
and model who taught me the value of basic research.
Rest
in peace
FOR AN INFORMATIVE AND PERSONAL ARTICLE ON PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS WHEN
SELECTING A NURSING HOME SEE OUR ARTICLE "How to Select a Nursing Home"
by Harold Rubin
posted February 9, 2020
http://www.therubins.com
To e-mail: harold.rubin255@gmail.com or allanrubin4@gmail.com