Dr. Victor Parsonnet, a pioneering cardiac surgeon, has passed away at the age of 100. He died peacefully on December 23, his family shared with the New Jersey Symphony.
Parsonnet was the first doctor in New Jersey to successfully perform a heart and kidney transplant. He also made history by implanting the state’s first permanent pacemaker in 1961 and performing its first aortocoronary bypass surgery. For over 60 years, he worked in medicine, most recently as the chief of surgery at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
In addition to his medical work, Parsonnet had a long connection with music. He joined the New Jersey Symphony board in 1986 and became its chairman in 1991, a role he held until 2007. Parsonnet, who had a deep love for music, once said, “I have a love affair, me and musicians,” in an interview in 2008.
Born and raised in Newark, Parsonnet came from a family with strong ties to medicine and music. His grandfathers co-founded Newark Beth Israel Hospital in 1901, and his parents had a passion for music. His father played the violin and served on the symphony board, while his mother was a pianist.
A graduate of Weequahic High School and Cornell University, Parsonnet later served in the Navy and earned his medical degree from New York University. He joined his father’s medical practice in 1955.
Parsonnet was also an amateur pianist and, in 2008, performed a rehearsal with the New Jersey Symphony, playing piano solos in Mozart’s piano concertos Nos. 21 and 23.