Edward M. Berkelhammer ’63

Ed Berkelhammer, a psychiatrist in Manhattan and senior attending psychiatrist for Rikers Island Correctional Facility, died of cancer Sept. 11, 2010, in New York City.

After attending Trenton Central High School, where he was co-valedictorian of his class, Ed was a premed major in the history department, wrote a thesis on the 1961 New Jersey gubernatorial race, managed the marching and concert band, recruited students as a member of the undergraduate schools committee, and roomed with Newt Mead and Hal German.

He attended the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, served in the Navy as a lieutenant commander, and interned in surgery in Manhattan before switching to psychiatry. He was a professor at SUNY Brooklyn and unit chief of psychiatry at New York Medical College and Metropolitan Hospital. Ed wrote in our 30th book that he enjoyed forensic psychiatry “immensely. If the murder makes the Daily News, we get it first. Fascinating!”

Classmates at Reunions enjoyed the congeniality of Ed, a white-bearded bear of a man with a friendly smile. He leaves behind his wife of 42 years, JoEllen; his daughters, Lara Glazier ’94 and Melissa ’98; a son-in-law, Mathew; his sister, Ruth Berkelhammer Tilleman; and his beloved grandchildren, Alexandra and Charlie.