Dr. Victor Baum, died Friday, March 27, at age 95, in his home on Longboat Key, Fla. He was buried with full military honors at Sarasota National Cemetery. He was the son of the late Joseph and Nettie Baum, married to the late Mia Baum (nee Gumpert), father of Dr. Michael Baum (Carol) and Deborah Chapin-Horowitz (Edward), grandfather of Daniel Baum and Joshua Chapin, brother of the late Dr. George Baum (Ellen) and the true patriarch of the extended families and physician to all he encountered. He was a renaissance man, a musician, a healer, a soldier, a perpetual student. A 1942 graduate of New York University’s School of Medicine, he enlisted in the Army and served as the battalion surgeon in the 77th NY Statue of Liberty Division, shipping out of Hawaii and on July 21, 1944, landed with the 4th wave on the beach in Guam.
Captain Victor Baum was a decorated war veteran who, at the risk to his own life, gave emergency treatment to fellow soldiers (Bronze Star) and was subsequently wounded resulting in life long painful injuries (Purple Heart). These disabling injuries and chronic pain did not deter him from living an extraordinarily full life as a husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, surgeon, violinist and a winning tennis player. In 1973, he successfully reattached a severed arm of 16-year-old girl at Elmhurst Hospital. He was always available for a “house call” during the 40+ years he lived in Lake Success and later Longboat Key.
He loved classical music from when he first picked up a violin at the age of six and continued playing throughout his 95 years, from chamber music to full orchestra and ending his last year of life with a wonderful group of friends playing quartets.
