Anthony Gottlieb

Anthony A. “Tony” Gottlieb, M.D., passed away on June 23, 2022 after a heroic battle against dementia. Tony was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 9, 1936 to the late Morris Gottlieb, Ph.D., and the late Virginia Gottlieb and is survived by his loving wife, partner, supporter, and caregiver Katy Dealy. Tony leaves behind his brother John Gottlieb and wife Barbara, his brother Paul Gottlieb and wife Myrna as well as their children and families. Tony is also survived by his daughter Karin Clift and husband Bruce Clift and grandchild Rachel Clift, his daughter Stacey Gottlieb and husband Rick VanWie and grandchildren Autumn VanWie Gottlieb and Felix VanWie Gottlieb, and his son Aaron Gottlieb and wife Ellen Jensby and grandchild Elliot Gottlieb. Tony also leaves behind family cats Dairy, Nell, and Claire.

Tony loved medicine and science and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and his doctorate in medicine from the University of Chicago. Tony interned at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri and completed his residency at Cincinnati General Hospital in Ohio. During the Vietnam War Tony served as an officer in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, where he provided mental health and counseling services to Army personnel serving in the war.

After discharge from the service, Tony and his family moved to Denver, Colorado. As a licensed psychiatrist Tony worked for providers including Kaiser and had his own practice.  Tony was very active in the community and put his skills to use to try to build a better world. As part of his practice Tony offered counseling services to transgender people including those who sought sex reassignment surgery.  In an effort to prevent future war Tony joined Veterans for Peace.  Tony lobbied both the Colorado state legislature and the U.S. Congress for the rights of the mentally ill. A dedicated supporter of Israel, Tony studied the Torah in Jerusalem and supported Israel-based organizations dedicated to promoting understanding and cooperation between Jewish and Arab people. Tony was a member of the Hebrew Educational Alliance of Denver and as a lay chaplain lead religious services in nursing homes.  Every Passover Tony would lead the family Seder, and often invited family and friends.  Games of dreidel during Chanukah delighted his grandchildren (and young-at-heart adults).

A music lover, Tony adored going to the Opera and was often heard singing arias around the house. Tony played piano and guitar and often shared his talent with anyone who would listen.

Sports was a big part of Tony’s life and as a young man he loved playing football and basketball. Later, the tennis courts of Denver would become Tony’s stomping ground and he would gladly meet friends for a match. There are few who can quote sports statistics like Tony, who could recall numbers from the batting averages of the baseball greats to the number of wins the Denver Broncos had in a particular season.

But more than anything, Tony was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend and is dearly missed. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Tony’s memory to Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish Arab Education in Israel , Jewish Family Services of Colorado , or the ACLU of Colorado.