Martin E. Zelnick, 86, podiatrist, veteran
Martin E. Zelnick, 86, of Cherry Hill, a retired podiatrist and decorated World War II Army medic, died of lung cancer Thursday at his home.
Martin E. Zelnick, 86, of Cherry Hill, a retired podiatrist and decorated World War II Army medic, died of lung cancer Thursday at his home.
Dr. Zelnick graduated from Camden High School and attended Temple University School of Podiatry before enlisting in the Army in 1942.
He served in a medical battalion in Central Europe and the Rhineland, suffering a head wound from enemy shrapnel and earning a Purple Heart. He recuperated in Nice, France, which he remembered fondly and visited years later with his wife, Lillian Bessel Zelnick.
Dr. Zelnick eventually returned to his unit and in April 1945, he was among the U.S. troops who liberated the Dachau concentration camp.
Several years ago, he gave the Goodwin Holocaust Museum of the Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill photographs of the skeletal survivors and the dead soldiers that he encountered at the Nazi camp. The museum asked him to speak about his experience, but he declined, his wife said.
After his military discharge, Dr. Zelnick completed his education and practiced podiatry in Camden for 40 years until retiring in 1987. He was a member of the American Podiatry Society and the National Podiatry Society.
Dr. Zelnick and his wife traveled abroad often and visited Australia, New Zealand, India, Thailand, the Middle East and Indonesia. They loved experiencing different cultures, Mrs. Zelnick said. They also enjoyed winters in Palm Aire, Fla.
Dr. Zelnick was a Mason. He was a member of Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill and was a former member of Congregation Beth El in Cherry Hill.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Patti Weiss; a sister; and two grandchildren. A daughter, Arlene, died in 1981.
A funeral will be at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at Platt Memorial Chapel, 2001 Berlin Rd., Cherry Hill. Friends may call at 8:45. Burial will be at Crescent Memorial Park, Pennsauken.
Donations may be made to the Arlene Fran Zelnick Scholarship Fund, Congregation Beth El, 2901 W. Chapel Ave., Cherry Hill, N.J. 08002.