Albert Brookenthal, 1928-2013: Pharmacist worked at UT after retirement
6/2/2013Albert Brookenthal, a Toledo-area pharmacist whose practice spanned six decades, died Saturday in Ebeid Hospice Residence, Sylvania. He was 84.
He had a rare type of blood cancer and most recently had pneumonia, his daughter Stacy said.
Mr. Brookenthal of Sylvania Township worked until 80, albeit part time at the University of Toledo student medical clinic.
“His career as a pharmacist was long and successful,” his daughter said. “He had a collection of mortars and pestles all over the house, just because he loved his own career so much.”
He was a 1954 pharmacy graduate of UT. For several years he owned Al’s Pharmacy on Dorr Street and worked for local and national chains, including a stint as manager of a downtown Walgreen’s. He retired from full-time work at 65.
He was born June 17, 1928, to Julia and Samuel Brookenthal. His maternal grandfather, Isadore Frumkin, owned a longstanding tire firm and a building on Jefferson Avenue and Michigan Street.
Mr. Brookenthal was 17 when he graduated from Scott High School in 1946, as did his brother, Jerry, 16, and sister, Faye, 18. He'd made up a year he spent out of school and in a body cast after an accident.
He was a pianist and his brother a violinist, and the pair performed in concert. He adored show tunes, standards, and songs of recent vintage, all of which he memorized, including the score to Les Miserables.
“Any place he would walk into, he would sit down and play,” his daughter said. “He never met a piano he didn’t like.”
He researched genealogy and searched out distant relations in his travels. He made sure future generations would have plenty of material.
He was an Army veteran and served in Korea and a member of Goodman-Goldstein VFW Post 6909. He also attended the yearly reunions of the Raggedy Ass Cadets, a group made up of those with long ties to North Toledo.
Surviving are his wife, Arlene Brookenthal, whom he married June 7, 1951; daughters, Stacy Wallach and Alesa Trager, and four grandchildren.
Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. today in Congregation B’nai Israel, Sylvania Township, where he was a member. Arrangements are by the Robert H. Wick/Wisniewski Funeral Home.
The family suggests tributes to Congregation B'nai Israel; the American Cancer Society, or a charity of the donor’s choice.