Obituary of Dr. Leslie Pearlstein

Dr. Leslie Pearlstein, age 77, died July 7th, 2022 in St. Petersburg, Florida surrounded by his loving family.

Leslie was born on June 27th, 1945 in Queens, New York. He was raised in Miami, Florida and graduated from Jackson High School in 1963. He graduated from Duke University in 1967 and from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1971. Leslie met his wife, Reva, in 1969 and they married in 1970. After his training in Baltimore and Louisville, they moved with their two daughters to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he served in the United States Air Force. In 1978, they settled in St. Petersburg, Florida where he joined the Suncoast Medical Clinic and practiced until 2001. He served as Chief of Staff at Bayfront Medical Center and received many honors and accolades throughout his career. One of his proudest accomplishments was his role in creating Bayflight to serve the west coast of Florida. Later in his career, he spent five years practicing in the rural community of Murphy, North Carolina. Once he closed his surgical practice, he taught anatomy and physiology at National University of Health Sciences and worked for the Social Security Administration.

Leslie was deeply committed to many pursuits and passions. He was dedicated to family, his patients, community and Jewish life. Among his many talents and hobbies, he was a pilot, an avid photographer and a voracious reader. His greatest pride and joy was being Poppy to his four grandchildren, Toby, Dustin, Ilan and Naomi.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Sylvia and Teddy Pearlstein. Leslie is survived by his wife Reva Pearlstein of 52 years; daughters, Jody (Yoav) Rappaport of Tampa, Florida; Jessica (Sam) Averbuch of Nashville, Tennessee; sister, Joan Mills and devoted brother’s in law, Ira and Jay Azneer.

Services will be held on Monday, July 11th at Congregation B’nai Israel (300 58th Street North, St. Petersburg) at 1pm. In person attendance requires masks and the service will also be streamed online on Streamspot (link below) and streamed live on CBI Facebook page. Streamspot Link: https://venue.streamspot.com/event/MzMwMDQyMw==

Donations in Dr. Leslie Pearlstein’s memory may be made to Congregation B’nai Israel of St. Petersburg, Congregation Kol Ami of Tampa, Friends of the IDF, or Gilda’s Club of Middle Tennessee.

Shiva Information:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday nights Shiva will be held at Reva Pearlstein's house. Thursday and Saturday nights Shiva will be held at Jody Rappaport's house.