Hart Achenbach

GROVELAND – Formerly of Danvers, Hart Achenbach, 101, passed away on Thursday, March 10, 2022. Hart was born in Bringhausen, Germany on February 26, 1921. He came to the United States as a young child with his parents, Fritz and Erna (Wenzler) Achenbach and his sister Irma Achenbach Scudder. The family lived briefly in Cleveland, Ohio, before settling in Winter Park, Florida near Orlando, where Hart and Irma grew up. An avid lover of nature from an early age, he joined the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended the University of Florida, where he graduated with a degree in engineering. After graduation he enlisted in the Navy and served on the USS Zircon. Later in the war he became a medic, a position that led him to his future study. After the war, Hart enrolled in the first post-war class at Harvard Medical School and graduated in 1950. While a medical student in Boston, he met Rachel Rock and wooed her placing a flower at her microscope in the cytology lab each day. They married in December 1948. In 1956, Hart and his family moved to Danvers, Mass. He began working at Hunt Hospital where he continued to work through his long career. He also worked at Cable Hospital for many years, splitting his time between the two places. In addition to his work in gynecology and general surgery, Hart taught at Harvard Medical School, served on ethics and tumor committees and travelled the world teaching surgical techniques and assisting in disaster relief. Hart was an enthusiastic sailor and often enjoyed travelling by boats of all sizes from canoe to steamer. In 1938 he went from Tampa to Hamburg, Germany on a coal fired steamer employed as a cabin boy so he could visit family. Over the years after he started his medical career, he enjoyed sailing with friends out of Marblehead and Gloucester and in 1985 he signed on as ship doctor to the Rambler. He went on the first leg of the Ramblers voyage around the world from Gloucester to Brazil, came home to work for a bit, and then rejoined the ship to sail from Chile to Easter Island. Vacations with his family were spent camping and canoeing in Maine, favorite places being the Allagash River and Moosehead Lake in Maine. His travels took him to Germany, Poland, Nicaragua, England, Brazil, Jamaica, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Argentina, Nepal, India, Tanzania, Kenya, China, Israel, Lesotho, Croatia, Afghanistan, South Africa, the USSR, Canada, Italy, Crete, Hungary, Austria, the Galapagos Islands and Easter Island, as well as much of the United States. Born with a curious mind, he enjoyed exploring and experiencing all the world has to share. Much of his travel involved working as a doctor, whether in a hospital or as a member of a group, and was arranged through organizations such as Care, Earthwatch, and the USS Hope, a hospital ship, which allowed him to become part of the fabric of life wherever he was and not a tourist. As a person who truly enjoyed meeting people he would explore small towns and villages as the chance arose and valued the people he worked with, visited or had as patients at home and wherever he went. Hart is survived by six children: Eric Achenbach, Carolyn Ingraham, Jef Achenbach and his wife, Laurel May Alexander, Sue Achenbach, Ellen Lewis and Tom Achenbach and his wife, Nancy, a nephew, Ron Scudder, and a niece, Sylvia Scudder. He also leaves eight grandchildren: Seth, Bobby Lee, Jamie, Harmony, Laura, Anna, Brian and Cory, as well as three great grandchildren. Hart is predeceased by his beloved Rachel, his wife of 67 years, and his sister, Irma Scudder. Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 17, 2022 from 12PM to 2PM at C.R. Lyons and Sons, Funeral Directors, 28 Elm St, Danvers. All other services are private. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Dr. Hart’s name to Doctors Without Borders at https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org or at World Central Kitchen at https://donate.wck.org.