Gabriel d'Amato, 87, lifelong student and teacher

GABRIEL A. D'AMATO could have had a career as a classical pianist, but he chose medicine instead.

His choice turned out to be of great benefit to the mentally ill, especially children, and those who treat them. As a practicing child psychiatrist, researcher, consultant, teacher and author, he made important contributions to the field.

Gabriel d'Amato, an Army veteran of World War II who served as a flight surgeon in the Air Force in the early '50s, died April 15 at the age of 87. He lived in Center City.

Along with his distinguished medical career, Gabriel never neglected his music and performed with the Savannah Symphony Orchestra from 1959 to 1962, and with various quartets, as well as at home with family and friends.

Gabriel was born in Genoa, Italy, to Orlando and Paula d'Amato. He grew up in Orange, N.J., where he attended Seton Hall Prep. He was valedictorian of the Class of 1943 at Seton Hall University, graduating with degrees in classical languages, philosophy and pre-medicine.

He actually began medical school while in the Army because of the need for doctors, and graduated from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1947.

He earned a master's in biomedical engineering from Drexel University at the age of 56.

Gabriel's academic appointments included Temple University, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, the Medical College of Georgia, the State University of New York's Upstate Medical Center and Binghamton University.

He was the first clinical director of the Eastern State School and Hospital, in Bensalem.

Gabriel was vehemently opposed to housing mental patients who had committed crimes in prisons.

He headed a group of psychiatrists who supported the inclusion of psychiatric wards in general hospitals in American cities.

He practiced in Savannah until 1961, after which he accepted a teaching position at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, where he founded a clinic for children and developed a child psychiatry unit for training residents.

He moved to Philadelphia in 1964 and was involved in research and training of medical students in child psychiatry. His research interests were in infant behavior, psychophysiology, autism and neuropsychiatric disorders and neurometrics.

"He believed that patients should be admitted to programs, not beds in state institutions," his family said.

"Gabriel became a staunch advocate for research as a means of determining the causes of mental disorders, particularly the severe behavior disorders of children. He was clearly a decade ahead in this field."

He was in private practice over the years in New York City, Savannah and Augusta, Ga; Jenkintown and Binghamton, N.Y., and was a consultant to numerous hospitals and family services.

One of his books, "Residential Treatment for Child Mental Health," published in 1969. He was the author of other books and many articles in professional journals.

Gabriel studied music under Massimiliano Chiappinelli in Italy in 1929, and Alberta Masiello at the Julliard School in New York on a scholarship from 1935 to 1939.

"Gabriel had a ceaseless love of knowledge, as evidenced by his neverending collection of books on many subjects," his family said, "and was always ready and eager to engage you in a teaching moment or enthusiastic discussion on any topic."

He is survived by two sons, Charles and Thomas A.; two daughters, Barbara A. Odhner and Lisa A. Patrican; 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased in 1998 by his wife, Frieda Marie ne'Zackskorn.

Services: A celebration of life service will be held at a future date. *