DR. ROBERT JEFFREY SHALOWITZ (1951-2022)

Dr. Robert Jeffrey Shalowitz a.k.a. "Bobby/Poppa Bob/Doc Shal" passed away peacefully Saturday, April 16th, 2022 surrounded by family in his longtime home of Akron, Ohio.

Doc was born March 28, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland to Florence Guggenheimer and Danny "Sheelds" Shalowitz. He graduated from Northwestern High School in 1969. He attended college at The University of Maryland in College Park and went on to graduate from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, completing his medical residency in OB/GYN at the York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania. While in medical school, he met the love of his life and wife who he was married to for over 35 years, Maureen Anne Shalowitz.

Doctor Shalowitz was an OB/GYN for over 40 years and served the Akron, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia communities, among others. He loved working with students and residents and was a teacher and mentor for NEOUCOM and the West Virginia School of Medicine.

Bobby had many passions. He was nationally renowned in rare coin circles. Remarkably, he paid for his medical education by buying and selling coins. He belonged to The American Numismatic Association (ANA) and The Early American Coppers, Inc. (EAC), where he specialized in Large Cents and West Virginia Tokens.

Doc Shal was also an avid golfer. While his stature may not have been intimidating, his score cards were. A favorite story was that once on a golf outing with friends, one of his drives took out a squirrel who dared to wander onto the fairway in front of one of his killer drives.

Poppa Bob had an exceptional memory. His ability to recall precise details earned him the opportunity to be a professional golf course rater of which he was very proud. His passion afforded him the opportunity to play famous courses all over the country, from Pebble Beach to Augusta, and numerous internationally recognized courses. He loved competing in the annual Kiddish Cup tournament and Maccabi Games and he was member of many golf clubs over the years.

Poppa Bob was a true gem. He was very proud of his Jewish heritage and never forgot his Baltimore roots. He never forgave Bob Irsay for stealing the Baltimore Colts away to Indianapolis in the middle of the night. He loved military history, aviation, and Star Trek. He could pick up a guitar and sing you any 60's or 70's song. Doc always knew where to devour Maryland blue crabs and craved getting his seafood fix. He enjoyed attending concerts and Broadway shows and his favorite moments were spent with his four grandsons.

When I attended my first Early American Coppers (EAC) convention in 1979, Bob Shalowitz was already a prominent and well-respected member. To the EAC insiders, he was known as The Great Shal. I will admit I was intimidated by him.

At the time, only a handful of people had assembled a complete collection of early large cents by the 295 Sheldon die varieties. In 1974, while he was in medical school, Bob Shalowitz bought the complete collection assembled by Denis Loring. He then disassembled the collection and sold it off piecemeal. This helped to finance his medical education. Much of this appeared in an ad on pages 196-198 of the July 15, 1974, issue of Penny-Wise.

Bob was known in EAC as a dealer in better grade material. His name will appear in the pedigree of many important large cents. He operated on a plain above my head and I don't recall that I ever bought a coin from him.

In recent years I saw Bob occasionally at the ANA conventions behind the table of David Stagg.

Bob Shalowitz died at home in Akron, Ohio, on April 16, 2022.

To read the complete obituary, see:
Robert Shalowitz (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/baltimoresun/name/robert-shalowitz-obituary?id=34344586)

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