March 7 1922 – December 16, 2012As evidence of a life well lived, Dr. Friedman was surrounded by loved ones and long time family friends during his last days of home hospice.Among his many professional accomplishments Dr. Friedman was Past-President of the Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology, Professor of Psychiatry and Mental Health Sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Marquette University Medical School. Sam served as Chief Clinical Psychologist at the Wood Veterans Administration Center in Milwaukee. He was called upon to deliver his professional opinion on many notorious cases, including his service as the court appointed evaluator for the Jeffrey Dahmer case. Sam was a compassionate man who always made his services available for pro bono consultations. Dr. Friedman served in the US military during WWII as a French and German language interpreter.Sam met the love of his life, Dr. Marlene Trachsel, while consulting for the Milwaukee Jewish Vocational Services. Together for over fifty years, Sam and Marlene assembled an eclectic circle of friends. Their home was the epicenter of liberal discourse. Dr. Friedman had an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. Born and raised in Hartford Connecticut by Russian immigrants, Sam excelled in academics, earning his way out of poverty with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychiatry at the University of Minnesota in 1950.Settling in Milwaukee, Dr. Friedman grew tired of government work and went into private practice. Sam conducted personality inventory tests for the Catholic Church, evaluated prisoners for legal defense teams, consulted for the Peace Corps, and helped everyday people sort through their personal problems.Dr. Friedman is survived by his wife Dr. Marlene Trachsel of Mequon, WI, and his daughter Lynn Friedman, an editor with ABC News in San Francisco, CA.Memorial services will be held this Saturday December 22, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the Quaker Milwaukee Friends Meetinghouse, 3224 North Gordon Place, Milwaukee, WI 53212.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a humane society or civil rights .
