Obituary: Robert Stanley Botnick

Robert Stanley Botnick, 89, of Augusta, Ga., passed away May 23, 2020. Dr. Botnick was born April 8, 1931, in New Orleans, La., the son of Harry and Mollie Botnick, and grew up in Hattiesburg, Miss.

He received his high school diploma from Phillips Exeter Academy, his undergraduate degree from Duke University, and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed internal medicine residency training at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia before moving with his growing family to Augusta to begin medical practice.

In building a successful medical practice in Augusta, Dr. Botnick was one of the first to provide polio vaccinations and one of the few to provide FAA examinations for area pilots. He was one of the founding physicians of Doctors Hospital of Augusta and served in leadership positions with the Georgia Society of Internal Medicine, the Medical Association of Georgia, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. After more than two decades in private practice, he transitioned to a career on the medical staff at the Savannah River Site, before retiring from there.

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Dr. Botnick was a longtime member of the Adas Yeshurun Synagogue and served on the board of directors of the Augusta Jewish Community Center, funding a JCC pavilion in memory of his daughter, Laura Botnick Krafchick. A pillar of the Augusta Jewish community for decades, he was part of a 1970 Augusta delegation to Israel that led to an ongoing role in fundraising for Israel and the establishment of the Augusta Jewish Federation, for which he served as secretary. His early and instrumental role there included representing the Jewish Education Loan Fund, ensuring that needy students were awarded scholarships to fund their higher education.

He was preceded in death by his brother Marvin Z. Botnick and daughter Laura Botnick Krafchick, and is survived by his wife Lelia Botnick; Warren Botnick; son and daughter-in-law, Randy Botnick and Rita Sinkoe Botnick, and daughter and son-in-law Jennifer Botnick Britanisky and Robert Britanisky; and grandchildren Jacob, Joshua, Ian and Hannah Botnick, and Laura and Hunter Britanisky.

A private graveside service was held for family only due to COVID-19 safety restrictions and livestreamed on Facebook for his many friends and family members. Memorials may be made to the Jewish Education Loan Fund, 4549 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road., Dunwoody, GA 30338 or online at www.jelf.org/donate.