We were very fortunate to have Jerry as a brother-in-law and uncle. He was not only a good friend but also helped us a great deal with his medical recommendations both for ourselves and our patients. Jerry’s Yeshiva background made him a valuable source of advice on such matters as Kaddush and Kashrut.

In addition, his knowledge of home and auto repairs was very helpful. He shared his skills in preparing scientific presentations and writing scientific papers. He was a lover of fine art and an avid naturalist. We remember an autumn some years ago when we met Sylvia and Jerry in Cape May. While Inga went shopping with Sylvia, I went bird watching with Jerry. I had never done this before. It was fascinating to observe the birds through binoculars from a location in southern Cape May, all the more appreciated because of Jerry’s ability to recognize the different species.

The memories of his many accomplishments and fine qualities should serve as a source of comfort to his family and friends.

Herb and Inga Sinakin

I am Dr. Nissenbaum’s former daughter-in-law. However, I still called him “Dad” after my marriage to Gary ended, because I could not bring myself to call him anything else. (In fact, I still call my former mother-in-law “Mom”).

The website is wonderful because it shows what a truly unique individual Dad was. Whenever I think of him, I remember someone who was possessed of wisdom. He knew about so many things and shared his knowledge gracefully: from medicine to science to plumbing to the canal system of New Jersey to cameras to ancient history, and so many other topics I could exhaust the megabyte space on the website. He knew it all. He was always curious to learn new things and embraced the acquisition of knowledge.

I remember him fondly.

Nancy Lem

Jerry was my cousin, the husband of Sylvia, my Uncle Richie and aunt’s Florry’s daughter. I have known Jerry all of my life, now approaching 45 years. As a fellow Jersey City inhabitant during my childhood, we (my parents, sister, and I) spent a great deal of nice family time with Jerry, Sylvia, Gary, Eliot, and Robert Samuel. I often overheard my mother speaking with Sylvia over the phone, planning some upcoming family engagement. Our families were close.

I often encountered Jerry in religious situations, the most famous being the family Seders, whether the event was held at my Uncle Richie’s and Aunt Flo’s home, my home, or finally, at Jerry and Sylvia’s home. These Seders were a big deal and it was important to Jerry and the entire family that the Seder be run just right. I believe Jerry truly enjoyed these family times and I have many warm memories of these events.

I also remember Jerry from a medical context, for it was he who cared for our family in times of medical emergencies as well as simple check-ups and the like. Jerry was always available to care for my folks and I will always appreciate him for that. Thank you, Jerry.

You are now, I am sure, under the care of the Almighty in Gan Eden. My prayers go out to you.

Eby Friedman

My father was a powerful man who gripped life with both hands and would not let go. He had the range and intelligence to harness and direct his enormous strength to delicate undertakings: the subtlety of healing disease; the gentleness of relieving suffering. He toiled without respite in that always-losing battle to stave off the deterioration and death that is our common destiny. He used his will and enormous physical stamina to keep pushing that rock up the hill day after day, only to see it roll down again, as over time, his patients ultimately went the way of all flesh, and God laughed. Yet, he would rededicate himself the very next day to that effort. And it is in that toiling, without respite, that he showed the best of himself, the best of humanity.

He was a physician who never gave up. He took that irascible, lumbering leviathan called disease; grabbed it by the scruff of the neck; and forced it to move away for the time being. How many patients and their families gained resolve from knowing that their physician had that kind of fortitude? How many of them were, in some measure, eased of their suffering simply by knowing that a man like Dr.  Nissenbaum was running interference for them?

We are all so alone, and  at no time more than when we stare down a path along which our bodies begin to fail us. But there he would be, when he was needed most, reaching down to grab a hand and lead toward a different path. And he would not let go.

He was dedicated to excellence; he had an inner strength and force of will that informed everything he did. It was hard sometimes for a son to live up to that standard. Perhaps none of us really did. Yet, he showed the three of us the way. And there is still time.

 A son cannot measure the life of his father, for a son cannot truly ever know his father. A man holds things back from his son; he seeks to show only certain parts of himself, to set an example. Yet, perhaps the rest of my father is seeded within me, and if that is so, then as the years pass, I will come to know him better. And I will come to respect him more.

 Gary D. Nissenbaum

Whenever we think of our distinguished nephew Dr. Gerald Nissenbaum, the pungent question comes to mind: Why did God choose one individual and endow him with such an abundance of intellectual prowess and power? Yehudah (we always called him by his Hebrew name) had a brilliant mind that appeared to possess a reservoir of knowledge, whether it was medical, scientific or down to earth in the domestic area – in plumbing, automobiles, etc.

His immense understanding of every facet of human life was incomparable. His brain appeared to possess a warehouse of facts covering all areas, diverse, yet vital and alive with probing questions. It was a special privilege to know him. As our beloved nephew, we shared so much of life from his early childhood to his professional career.

Our memories of Yehudah are indeed so inspiring, that they reach the realm of the sublime!

Hannah and Sidney Nissenbaum

Dr. Nissenbaum was one of the kindest, brightest, nicest men I ever knew. Spending Shabbatt at Harry Speira’s house (do you know him?) with Gerry, Sylvia, and a few others is a gorgeous memory of my younger days. That it was all more than 50 years ago is incomprehensible. It seems like yesterday….

Samuel “Sandy” C. Goldman