Obituary: Arthur Charles Feinstein

Arthur Charles Feinstein, M.D., F.A.C.S., was a prominent general and oncological Atlanta surgeon who, during his career, prolonged the lives of hundreds of individuals and one silverback gorilla at Zoo Atlanta. Feinstein passed away Dec. 14, 2021, in Atlanta, Ga.

The son of David and Rose Feinstein (both deceased), Arthur (Art) Feinstein was born on Sept. 18, 1942, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He moved with his parents and sister Susan to Atlanta in 1953.

At the age of four, Art declared to his mother and father that he wanted to be a doctor. He never wavered.

After graduating from Druid Hills High School in 1960, he attended Emory University pre-med. His education continued at the Medical College of Georgia, where he received his M.D. in 1968, followed by a year’s internship at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y. He did not go alone.

He married Jeannie Maslia, daughter of Henry and Stella Maslia of Atlanta, in June 1968. After his four-year surgical residency at the Medical College of Georgia ended in 1969, he joined the medical practice of Dr. Pendegrast in the W.W. Orr Building on Peachtree Street. He later co-established Atlanta Surgical Associates, affiliated with Crawford Long Hospital.

Dr. Feinstein balanced his professional life with his family life to spend time with his wife and two children, Scott and Cari, supporting their school and extracurricular activities. When time permitted, they explored the world.

His profession wasn’t the only passion of his to require capable hands. Dr. Feinstein’s skills in photography, woodcarving, drawing, painting and computer-aided design were outstanding — enough to earn him an “art” show in a Blue Ridge gallery.

A voracious nonfiction reader, his creations were often inspired by nature and wildlife. His interests encouraged him to volunteer at the Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta, where he conducted tours. An unexpected challenge came when he was asked to perform surgery on an ailing silverback gorilla. Knowing the physiology and biology of the silverback were similar to humans, Dr. Feinstein stepped in, and the surgery was successful.

After retiring from private practice, he was an attending surgeon at Atlanta’s VA Medical Center, where he trained surgical residents in the art of saving lives.

Dr. Feinstein is survived by his wife, Jeannie, children Scott Michael Feinstein, Cari Michelle DeHass and Brian DeHass, sister Susan Feinstein Hawkins and Jim Hawkins, grandchildren Grace Dyan Feinstein and Emerson Rose DeHass, extended family and friends who miss him already.

Please send donations to either Zoo Atlanta (https://give.zooatlanta.org/donate) or the Georgia Aquarium (https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/donations).