William Sholkoff Breall

We are beyond sad to have lost our dad, Dr. William ("Billy") Breall, on August 14th at the age of 96. Dad was orphaned at a young age but was raised by his great-Aunty and cousins in Portland, Oregon. He always had fond memories of his friends Dr. Lenny and Dolly Goldberg.

Dad put himself through Reed College and graduated after three years while working various jobs, including at the Willamette Paper Mill. He graduated early to take his place in medical school at the University of Oregon, which is now known as Oregon Health and Science University. When he went to pay his first tuition, he was worried he wouldn't have enough money, but he had saved up, and the rest was history. He graduated from OHSU in 1954.

Dad came to San Francisco for his residency/internship at Mt. Zion Hospital, where he was invited to a Thanksgiving dinner. At that dinner he met the love of his life, Ann Fay "Faga" (née Schwartz) Breall (OBM). They were married July 3, 1955, after only six months of dating, and were never apart for the next 67 years. Every Thanksgiving, until his death, was special, with as many of his children and grandchildren as possible there at our parents' house.

Billy did his cardiology fellowship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago in 1959. Once back in San Francisco, Dad worked tirelessly making house calls and hospital rounds. Billy founded his cardiology practice in 1960, which remains the largest independent cardiology group in San Francisco. He loved his patients and did not wish to retire until July 2025, when he became ill.

In January 1961, our dad was in the San Francisco Chronicle as one of three doctors who used a defibrillator for the first time and saved a man's life. After this success, the hospital planned to keep defibrillators available at all times. From 1973 to 1978, Billy was Chief of Cardiology at the University of CA/Mt. Zion Medical Center. Our dad was a pioneer in Telehealth when he opened an office on Geary Blvd in San Francisco dedicated to reading ECG's over the telephone nationally. This work helped patients in rural counties and cities who did not have access to a cardiologist. We were so proud of our dad, who was devoted to charitable causes and volunteerism. He served 15 years as a member of the San Francisco Employees' Retirement Board, reappointed by three different mayors. He was also a past president of the Hebrew Free Loan and of Sinai Memorial. Dad was always happy to give $5 to people who needed it on the street and taught his children to do the same.

Governor Gray Davis appointed our dad to the Medical Board of California in 2002. He had many interesting days volunteering with the Medical Board and would attend board meetings in Sacramento and Los Angeles.

Dad is survived by his children Dr. Jeffrey Breall (Lisa Sarbach), Hon. Susan Breall (David Looman), Joseph Breall (Susan Jenkins), Sophie Breall (Brendan Cormack), Dr. Phyllis Ritchie (Bruce), Max Breall (Natalie), and 11 grandchildren, all of whom miss him beyond words. In the four years after our Mom passed away, we had "cousin lunches" with our Mom's sister, Roz Kahn, Dr. Jim Kahn, Robin Mayer, and Dan Kahn, along with other cousins by special appearance like Bob Mayer, Efi Hirsch, Danice Morris, Mark and Susan Fredkin, Robin and Bob's grandchildren, and Dad's grandchildren. Dad loved them all.

We are grateful for his and our Mom's caregivers, his doctors, Assitou Haman, M.D, James Chun, M.D., and all the doctors and staff at the Cardiology Group at UCSF/St. Mary's Hospital.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to HealthyPSTest.org, his daughter's free clinic.