National Jewish hospital research physician Mayer B. Goren, who died Oct. 9 at age 84, specialized in studying mycobacteria the organisms responsible for tuberculosis, leprosy and other respiratory diseases.
Goren, an accomplished violinist, also used his knowledge of organic chemistry to attempt replicating the singular varnish used on Stradivarius violins.
For years, he and a hospital colleague compiled scores of varnish formulas, trying each new brew on their own violins in the hope of stumbling on the combination that contributes to a Stradivarius violin’s unique resonance.
They tried each variation on violins that hung to dry on Goren’s backyard clothesline. More than once, he hurried home from his office, anxious about rescuing the violins when threatening clouds gathered overhead.
The son of a Polish tailor, Goren and his parents immigrated in 1927 to Dallas. He was 6. He started school immediately, learning English by what he later called “the sink or swim” method.
By the time he graduated from high school, Goren had become an exceptional violinist. Baylor University offered him a full scholarship in music. After studying for a while at Baylor, Goren decided to transfer to Rice University and study medicine, reluctantly abandoning the capricious career of a professional musician.
In 1962, following short stints at the Denver offices of Kerr-McGee and Shell Oil, Goren joined the research staff at National Jewish.
He regularly attended synagogue and became part of the weekly service at Rodef Shalom, where he chanted selections from the Haftarah.
Goren never lost his interest in the violin and played in local chamber-music groups and community orchestras throughout his life.
He regularly attended symphony and chamber-music performances, and educated himself about other forms of music.
During the 1970s and ’80s, flamenco guitar music intrigued him. Goren, who tended to pursue his interests at full throttle, attended a flamenco course in Cordova, Spain – not to learn to play, but to better understand the genre.
Throughout his life, the Yiddish he spoke as a child spiced Goren’s casual conversations. While he rarely spoke of his first years in Poland, his own children inferred that his life there must have been extraordinarily bleak because he never complained about the meager years of the Great Depression.
“He talked about growing up in a house with a dirt floor,” his daughter Rise Koben said. “Probably the Depression didn’t seem so bad after that.”
Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Ethel Goren of Denver; daughter Rise Koben of Bloomington, Ind.; and sister Hannah Goren Galerstein of Dallas. Another daughter, Phyllis Goren, preceded him in death.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
