BEN RYBAK

RYBAK--Ben, age 94, died on March 1st at his home in Fort Lee, NJ. Born in Poland to Leon and Sara Rybak on December 17th, 1920, he emigrated to Argentina at the age of nine. He attended medical school and completed his medical residency in Buenos Aires, where he practiced for 14 years as a gastroenterologist. He brought his new family to the United States in 1961 and settled first in the Bronx and later in Englewood, New Jersey, retraining and practicing as a pathologist at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens for 28 years. His areas of interest and research included the early detection of gastric cancer and the gastrointestinal manifestations of HIV. Ben was known to all as an intelligent and loving man, a truly gentle spirit whose passions were his family, his Jewish faith and his teaching. He is survived by Fanny, his loving wife of 57 years, his two children, Judith and Leon, and his grandchildren Daniel and Sofia. Funeral services will be at Temple Emanu-el in Closter, NJ at 1pm on March 3rd.