Dr. Michael M. Gold, 93

BARRINGTON, R.I. – Michael M. Gold, M.D., of Greenwood Avenue, died at Miriam Hospital on Aug. 27. He was the beloved husband of Linda (Orloff) Gold for 28 years. Born in Newport, the son of Harry and Ernestine (Kosch) Gold, he lived in New York, New Jersey, Vermont and, finally, Rhode Island for the last 20 years.

During WWII, he was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps and served as a navigator on a B-17. In 1944, his plane was shot down, and he spent 16 months in a POW camp in Nazi Germany. After the war, he earned a B.S. degree from Columbia University and a medical degree from the University of Rochester. He then finished his specialty training in gynecology and obstetrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

The first gynecologist and obstetrician in Ocean County, New Jersey, Dr. Gold practiced medicine in Lakewood and, later, was recruited to become the director of the Southern Vermont Women’s Health Center in Rutland, Vt. At Paul Kimball Hospital in Lakewood, Dr. Gold was given the award of Doctor of the Year in 1984. Although he retired in 1997, after 40 years of medical practice, he served as a volunteer peer counselor for a group of Korean War veterans suffering from PTSD.

Dr. Gold was also featured in Thomas Childers’ well-known history, “Soldier from the War Returning” and, in 2010, he was given the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame Presidential Award.

Besides his loving wife, Linda, he is survived by his brother, Robert Gold, and his wife LaDonna, his daughter-in-law, Sue Gold, his wife’s children, Steven, Laura and Jeffrey Schwartz, his grandchildren, Hannah and Jacob Gold, Alexander and Olivia Cardile and countless friends. Sadly, his cherished sons, Daniel, Joseph and Steven Gold, all predeceased him.

Dr. Gold will always be remembered for his caring, empathy, consideration of others and warmth, as well as for his keen sense of humor.