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always well-dressed, the perfect gentlemen in every
interaction. He could connect with anyone from
any walk of life,” he said. Dr. Harold Unger always
had a joke to tell patients. When Joshua’s father, Stephen Unger, would see a patient first, for example,
Harold would step into the office and say to the
patient, “I’m covering for my father.” “My grandfather and father had very different personalities,
but they were both very professional, very driven,
always without being egotistical. Both my father
and grandfather instilled in me the idea that your
first priority is to take good care of your patients,”
Dr. Joshua Unger said.
“My dad is an eternal optimist, just like my
grandfather,” Dr. Joshua Unger added. “I am more
of a second guesser about medical decisions, and it
has been wonderful to have him as a senior partner.
He is always available and not bothered if I call to
ask for advice at all hours of the day. He has come
in to the OR a few times in the middle of the night
to help me out with a case.”
“Shameless” in seeking father’s advice
Paul Kunkel Davis, MD, FACS, a cardiac surgeon,
Christiana Care Center for Heart & Vascular Health,
Newark, DE, often turned to his surgeon father—
William S. Davis, MD, FACS, Camp Hill, PA—for
counsel. “I was shameless,” he said. “I would call my
dad and ask his opinion on a case. He loved getting
those calls, and I learned an awful lot from him.”
Dr. Paul Davis has surgical influences in his
blood. As a resident, Dr. William Davis joined
the Camp Hill, PA, practice of Paul Augustine
Kunkel, Jr., MD, FACS, whose daughter he even-
tually married. The late Dr. William Davis retired
from practice at age 70 and “missed it every day of
his life until his death 12 years later,” according to
Dr. Paul Davis.
“Around age 12, it dawned on me that becoming
a surgeon was doable,” said the younger Dr. Davis.
“It occurred to me that if I did well in school, I could
The late Dr. Harold Unger (seated) with his son, Dr. Stephen Unger
(right) and grandson Dr. Joshua Unger, all of whom practiced or still
practice at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach.
Patients often tell Dr. Joshua Unger today that they felt
connected to his personable grandfather. “He was always
well-dressed, the perfect gentleman in every interaction. He
could connect with anyone from any walk of life,” he said.
