As a young Naval sailor, Tim Almeroth was serious about his grooming. And it paid off, because it was his neatly manicured hands that first drew the attention of the former Nellie McGauran. And after 51 years of marriage, Nellie K. Almeroth is sure her husband’s hands were the key to his success.
“It seems as if everything he touched turned into something wonderful,” she said. “He was just good at everything he touched.”
Dr. Robert H. Almeroth, Jr., known as Tim by all, of Avondale Estates died Friday at DeKalb Medical from complications associated with advanced prostate cancer. He was 73. A service is planned for 1 p.m., Feb. 18 at The Pavilion at King's Bridge, 3055 Briarcliff Road, N.E., Atlanta. His body will be cremated and A.S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.
Before Dr. Almeroth’s hands began treating patients, they were installing and programming computers. His career started as an information systems technician for IBM and Coca Cola. He applied to medical school at 35 and was accepted into the only school he applied: Emory University.
“He never told me this, but I think he always wanted to be a doctor,” said his daughter Andrea Smith, who lives in Buford and is a registered nurse. “But they got married right after he got out of the Navy, so he did the right thing in getting a job.”
Dr. Almeroth was born in Chicago but grew up in Hialeah, Fla.. After high school, Dr. Almeroth entered the U.S. Navy and worked in aviation electronics. He was honorably discharged in 1960, and went to work at IBM. Six years later, he took a job with Coke and stayed there through his first year of med school, his wife said.
When he completed his studies, Dr. Almeroth began his practice in family medicine at the Montreal Medical Center in Tucker. From 1984 until 1986 he was chief of the Department of Family Practice at DeKalb Medical Center, and he served as Chief of Staff from 1990 until 1992. He retired, for the first time, in 1998, but started helping out a friend who needed another doctor a few days a week in 2000. Ten years later, he whittled his scheduled down to working one day a week, and he fully retired in July 2011.
Friend and colleague Dr. Wytch Stubbs said Dr. Almeroth was recognized by his peers as an “outstanding physician who served on 13 medical staff committees” during his career.
“You know, some of us would sit around and talk about how we’ve lost the good old days of patient/doctor relationships,” Dr. Stubbs said. “But Tim never lost it. He’d take as much time as he needed with a patient.”
Dr. Stubbs said his friend had a “reverence for life,” that spilled over into his medical practice.
“When we’d be out in the woods, he wouldn’t kill a snake or step on an ant if he could avoid it,” Dr. Stubbs said. “He honored life and it was his honor to take care of his patients.”
Kevin Almeroth, an Atlanta attorney who lives in Savannah, remembers his father as a man who took care of anyone who needed his help.
“He was always thinking of the other person,” Mr. Almeroth said of his father. “He was always my go-to guy when I needed something or wanted to talk about something. But I’ve come to realize he was the go-to guy for a lot of people.”
In addition to his wife, daughter and son, Dr. Almeroth is also survived by three brothers, Peter J. Almeroth of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, Dr. Richard D. Almeroth of Pompano Beach, Fla., and James A. Almeroth of Davie, Fla.; sister, Deborah M. Lamon of Sunrise, Fla.; and four grandchildren.
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