03/10/2025    Joseph D’Amico, DPM

The Passing of Myron "Mike" Charles Boxer, DPM

I have been fortunate in my life to have had many
great mentors, including Drs. Richard O. Schuster,
Justin Wernick, and Herman R.Tax in orthopedics,
Renato J. Giorgini in surgery, and Myron C. Boxer
in medicine, so it was with great sadness that I
learned of his passing.

I first met Dr. Boxer as a New York College of
Podiatric Medicine student in his podiatric
medicine course. I immediately recognized him to
be always organized, always meticulously prepared
and always professional in his demeanor and
attire. Little did I dream that in the not-too-
distant future, I’d be director of the NYCPM
orthopedics department and get to know and work
side by side with “Mike”, the iconic director of
the medicine department for over a decade.

Dr. Boxer was head of podiatry at Gouverneur
hospital and during my NYCPM surgical residency
program rotations I had the opportunity to work
closely with him learning and refining the fine
points of physical examination, assessment,
charting and management. Always cool, calm and
collected and always available to answer any
question I may have had with a thoughtful
response. I’ll never forget all the lower east
side dinner break jaunts we had including Katz’s
delicatessen, Gus’s pickles, the Chinese
restaurants on Mott Street, clothes shopping on
Orchard Street and on and on.

When I completed my program, Mike hired me to work
as an attending. In addition to these
responsibilities, Mike had a legendary private
practice which myself and many other students and
practitioners would visit and continue to learn.
Mike was a perfectionist to the point that if he
noticed the emblem on his new Cadillac was not
perfectly aligned, he’d pull over, get out of the
car adjust it and not say a word. It was like that
with everything that he did.

I continued to visit Mike in his office even after
being in practice for years just to refine certain
techniques or to appreciate an alternative
approach to an otherwise unresponsive situation
and I never once left without learning something
new. Despite his crowded work schedule and valued
family commitments Mike was always exceptionally
generous with his time and knowledge. Now that he
is gone not only has the profession lost an icon
and I have I lost a mentor but more than that it
is the fact that he was my friend.

My sincerest condolences are extended to his
family, especially to his gracious wife Karen.

Joseph D’Amico, DPM

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