Dr. T. Richard Harelik was born June 23, 1935, in Chicago, Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Joan, two children, Justin Harelik and Anya Viner, and five grandchildren, Ricki, Max, Sam, Sophia and Marley.
He moved to California with his mother and twin sister, Joan, in the mid-1950s. He first lived in Pasadena, then started school at UCLA.
He completed medical school at the University of Illinois. He was drafted and served as a physician at Fort Mead near Washington, D.C., during the Vietnam War.
After returning to California, Dr. Harelik purchased a small medical practice on Via de la Paz in the early 1970s and worked for 40 years as an internist in the Palisades. He ate lunch every Wednesday at Cathay Palisades Chinese restaurant.
He was an avid cyclist, completing countless 100-mile bike races throughout California. He loved the opera and played both the recorder and harpsichord. He was a member of a local chorus in Santa Monica.
Dr. Harelik was one of the founding members of the bio-ethics committee at Saint John’s Hospital. And he had a green thumb for gardening, as he grew dozens of vegetables and fruits in his home garden, most of which are still enjoyed by his grandchildren to this day.
Dr. Richard Harelik cared for his patients as if they were family. He was a member of the Palisades community for over 40 years. Some of his patients will remember his two poodles, Zorro and Hercules, who worked with Dr. Harelik at his office.
He made house-calls well into his 70s. He never turned away a patient, no matter their financial limitations. He considered it an honor to provide medical care to the Palisadian community.
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