DR. IRVING BUTERMAN

Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY

He took his first breaths in a field near the side of a road in Nazi-occupied Poland, where he was born nearly two months premature. His parents were on the run, having lost many family members to concentration camps.

“[My grandparents] had gotten a nearby midwife to help,” says Larry, one of Buterman’s three children. “She put him to the side and told my grandmother he’s not going to make it . . . And my grandmother said, ‘Give him to me. How dare you.’ ”Well aware of his own difficult birth, Buterman devoted himself to bringing life into the world. He trained at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, where he remained for 50 years. At 56, he received a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University. All told, he delivered around 15,000 babies, including three cousins, all of whom were born on the same day. 

ARTIST - STEPHEN GARDNER: For as long as I can remember, I have loved to draw. This passion led me to art school in Cornwall, England, where I learned to become a professional illustrator. To my surprise, I have now been one for more than 30 years.