Obituary of Ernest Edward Flegel

Ernest E. Flegel, MD Retired physician Ernest E. Flegel, MD, completed his final battle against illness Friday, Oct. 13, 2017. He was 77. A born-and-bred “Philly Boy,” Dr. Flegel was educated in the city he loved by the Jesuits at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and then St. Joseph’s University. With a half-scholarship and money earned flipping hamburgers during the summers at Willow Grove, the scholarly college graduate went on to Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. There, he began his training in what would become his life’s work: providing comfort and healing, delivered with kindness and his soft-spoken ease. His knowledge and polished style developed over decades of study and practice, beginning from a time he described as being the “greenest intern” at Misericordia Hospital (which is now Mercy Philadelphia Hospital). The nurse who corrected his CPR technique went on to become his wife of more than 50 years. Together, the young married couple answered Dr. Flegel’s US Draft notice by reporting to Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, before returning to Philadelphia so he could act as Chief Medical Resident at Philadelphia General Hospital. Back at his medical school, a cardiology residency followed, before he joined Haddon Medical Associates as an internist and cardiologist. Officially, he was affiliated with many South Jersey hospitals, particularly Our Lady of Lourdes, in Camden. But his Cherry Hill home was the well-known clinic of the neighborhood, where worried neighbors often showed up at all hours with their sick kids, or the youngsters themselves would arrive with bumps, bruises, and sometimes injuries much more serious. All found his door open and his voice calming. In the moments where Dr. Flegel was not working, he enjoyed showing Afghan Hounds competitively and was an avid reader of spy novels and textbooks alike. His love of Hilton Head and the Carolina Low Country led to retirement on Haig Point, Daufuskie Island, attending to his own backyard koi pond and taking many phone calls about neighbors and grandkids under the weather. He is survived by wife Mirella, son David, daughters Mirella and Kendra Anne, brothers Ron and Ken, and five grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church in Hilton Head Island, SC on Friday, October 20 at 11 am followed by burial at First Union African Baptist Church Cemetery on Daufuskie Island at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Trinity Missions at www.trinitymissions.org To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Ernest Flegel, please visit our Flower & Gift Shop.