Herman M. Panzer, 88, longtime dermatologist

Herman "Hy" M. Panzer, 88, a retired dermatologist formerly of Cheltenham, died of colon cancer Wednesday at the Hill at Whitemarsh.

Dr. Panzer established a practice in 1946 in West Oak Lane. He later moved his office to Cedarbrook and was practicing in Chestnut Hill when he retired at 83. From 1959 to 1974, Dr. Panzer was chief of dermatology at Germantown Hospital.

He was ahead of his time, studying and applying alternative medical therapies including hypnosis, biofeedback, and acupuncture, his daughter Wendy Stephenson said.

A native of Newark, N.J., Dr. Panzer earned a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University. He completed his medical training, including a fellowship in dermatology, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. While in medical school, he met Elinor Silvert, a Penn undergraduate. They married in 1947. The couple's five children are all physicians.

Dr. Panzer enjoyed music, painting, swimming, and his grandchildren. Since moving to the Hill at Whitemarsh in 2007, he and his wife had participated in the social activities there, and he organized the Hanukkah festivities, which delighted both his Jewish and non-Jewish friends, his daughter said.

He had a lifelong passion for collecting Yiddish literature and music and recently donated his collection to the Yiddish Studies Program at Penn State in memory of his parents, Bella and Benjamin Panzer.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Dr. Panzer is survived by sons Pete, Glenn, and Scott; another daughter, Patt; a brother; two sisters; and 12 grandchildren.

A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. today at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael-Sacks Memorial Chapel, 6410 N. Broad St. Burial will be in Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose.