Necrology

Sanford Abraham Ratzan '61

Jun. 9, 1940-Feb. 29, 2024

Sanford Abraham Ratzan ’61 died on Feb. 29, 2024, in East Islip, N.Y. Born in Brooklyn on June 9, 1940, he came to Hamilton from Stuyvesant High School, New York City’s premier public secondary school for science and mathematics and renowned for having the most rigorous entrance requirements among the city’s nine public magnet schools. He arrived on the Hill determined to prepare for medical school.

He was a member of Squires fraternity, majored in chemistry and biology, and graduated with honors in both fields. He was the McKinney Prize Speaker his freshman year, in the Biology Club during his sophomore and junior years, and joined the Debate Club in his third year. As a senior, he was on the Student Senate and its Elections Committee.

Graduating as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sandy began his medical training at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. But before beginning medical school he married Amy Schwarzschild on June 18, 1961, in New York City. They had a daughter and a son.

Earning his medical degree in 1965, he began his orthopedic and general surgery residency at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York, , but was interrupted in 1967 by two years of military service in the U.S. Army. His first year included training at Brooke Army Medical Hospital at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, to apply his medical knowledge to trauma surgery requirements. He spent 1968 in Vietnam assigned to the 3rd Field Hospital. For his service, Sandy was awarded the Bronze Star medal.

Returning to St. Luke’s, he completed his surgical residency in 1972 and then opened a private practice in Bay Shore on Long Island. He and his family lived nearby in East Islip.

In addition to his private practice, which he continued until his retirement, Sandy concentrated on sports medicine and surgery, and when called upon he worked in the trauma center of Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. He was also chief of its orthopedic department. 

In tandem with that work, he was a member of two professional organizations: the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, of which he was a fellow and on its admissions committee, and the Arthrology Association. He was an instructor in orthopedic surgery at his alma mater, Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was a consultant in sports medicine and orthopedics for teams of several local school districts.

Sandy enjoyed both golf and skiing, as well as spending time with his children and grandchildren. Traveling was also important, particularly trips to the beaches in Normandy, France, and to Vietnam, which he later described as “emotional experiences that I shared with my family.”

His time on the Hill was truly formative. Sandy noted in his 25th reunion yearbook: “Throughout the stresses of my professional life, I have been able to get involved with literature and art first introduced at Hamilton. I was able to expand on this involvement in later years because of the solid background in all fields of education at Hamilton.”

Among his forms of “involvement” with art were collecting prints, including one by Jasper Johns which he later donated to the College, as well as service on its Arts Committee that provided assistance and counsel to the Emerson Gallery, the predecessor to the Wellin Museum.

In 2011, in his 50th reunion yearbook, Sandy added that Hamilton’s impact on his life and values also included, “ethics, honesty, communication, listening, [and] forming independent opinions.”

Sanford A. Ratzan is survived by his wife, daughter, son, and six grandchildren.

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