When Dr. Julius Ehik immigrated to the United States in 1950, he had 5 cents in his pocket, one piece of luggage and the only English he knew was "How do you do?"
Dr. Ehik never accepted the Communist way of life. In the late 1930s, while attending medical school in Budapest, Hungary, the then-teenager was drafted into the service while his town was being occupied by thousands of Russian soldiers.
But instead of entering the army, he and 600 other students had the option of heading to Germany as a "guest" of the Third Reich. It turned out the Germans weren't the most gracious of hosts, he told Dot Callaway Ehik, his wife of 31 years.
Dr. Ehik would spend years fighting for survival, watching towns disappear and people shuttled to concentration camps, before trekking on foot almost 120 miles to escape.
"He was the most amazing person," Mrs. Ehik said. "He was fearless in such a good way."
Dr. Julius Ehik, 86, of Atlanta died Nov. 3 of congestive heart failure at Altus Hospice. Dr. Ehik requested no memorial service be held, just that his ashes be divided between Atlanta and Budapest. H.M. Patterson & Son funeral home is in charge of arrangements.
Despite his tumultuous beginnings in Hungary, Dr. Ehik came to the United States full of hope.
He practiced family medicine for eight years in Sioux Falls, S.D., before moving to St. Louis to begin residency training in psychiatry. He moved to Atlanta in 1964 and opened offices at Pershing Point. A few years later, he practiced at what was once the Metropolitan Psychiatric Center.
The center initially was segregated in its handling of patients. The owner of the facility went on a trip and while he was away, Dr. Ehik integrated it.
"He just thought, ‘What was the point of having two waiting rooms? People are people," Mrs. Ehik said. "If something was the right thing to do, that's what he did. I think that's really brave. He always followed his conscience."
Lucie Coffie, a retired licensed clinical social worker, remembers Dr. Ehik's piercing blue eyes and candid way with patients at Ridgeview Institute in Smyrna in the early '90s.
"He interacted very honestly with people, speaking what he saw," said Mrs. Coffie, also his sister-in-law. "He just was blunt. I think [patients] liked it a lot. When you go through the types of things he went through, you don't mess around with playing games."
Starting in 1992, he practiced at VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care in Biloxi, Miss. Each month, Dr. Ehik worked with 30 patients, helping them overcome drug and alcohol addictions.
"All the patients loved him as a psychiatrist," said Richard Dodge, a former colleague and retired psychologist. "He cared about them. He would listen to them."
Dr. Ehik even advised Dr. Dodge, who was having issues with his staff and their bristling over rules and procedures. Dr. Ehik retired in 2004.
"I know he has a special place from God for what he's done with … the veterans, the Jews, the blacks," Dr. Dodge said. "Everybody loved him."
In addition to his wife, Dr. Ehik is survived by sisters Anna Feno of Sacramento, Calif., Emoke Ujvari and Maria Gyarmati, both of Budapest; step-daughter Suzi Lawrence of Smyrna; stepson Dr. David Goodchild Jr. of Dunwoody; and five grandchildren.
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
