Dr. Charles E. Brimm, 85, Camden physician
By Claudia Vargas

Inquirer Staff Writer

Charles E. Brimm, 85, a family doctor in Camden who made house calls in a yellow Mustang and had a city high school named in his honor, died Thursday of congestive heart failure at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. In an age when most doctors restricted interactions with patients to hospital rounds and office visits, Dr. Brimm continued to provide at-home visits until his retirement in 1997. "He loved his work and he loved his patients, and there was no place too far for him. He would go where his patients needed him," said Camden County Freeholder Riletta L. Cream, who knew Dr. Brimm for many years. After applying his favorite Yves St. Laurent cologne, Dr. Brimm would walk out the door of his Camden home between 7 and 7:30 a.m. each weekday, and often on weekends, too, for his rounds at area hospitals.
From there, he did some morning home visits, mostly to his elderly patients and others who had a hard time getting to his office at 614 Kaighns Ave., said his daughter, Linda J. Brimm.

Then it was time to see the 75 to 100 patients who could make it to the office. "He never turned anyone down," she said.

Once the office closed, he made another round of home visits before calling it a night.

Sometimes Linda and her brother, Charles E. Jr., would be asleep by the time their father got home, she said. Because of that, they went to work in his office beginning in their early teenage years.

"It was our way to get to spend some time with him," his daughter said. But there were never any hard feelings about their father's hours, she said. They knew he was working to help others, and that was something they admired.

After Dr. Brimm won a distinguished-professional award from the Cooper Hospital Foundation in 1992, his friend Michael Proper, a cardiologist, was preparing a speech and asked him how he would like to be described, Linda Brimm said.

"He told him, 'Just say I'm a doctor who cares,' " his daughter recalled. "And that sums it up. He really did care."

Dr. Brimm won many awards, but the accolade he was most happy to receive was the establishment of a Camden high school under his name. The Dr. Charles E. Brimm Medical Arts High School was founded in 1994 with space provided by Lourdes. It moved to its current building at 1626 Copewood St. in 1996.

"It was the height of his life," said his wife, Edith. "In fact, he couldn't stop crying. He could have gone right then and been happy." Dr. Brimm also helped establish organizations including CAMcare, a city-based health-care system. His daughter said he was one of the founding trustees of Camden County College in 1967.

In the 1970s, Dr. Brimm served as a city councilman and as campaign treasurer for Mayor Melvin R. "Randy" Primas Jr. His family members said that campaign soured him on the Democratic Party, though they weren't sure exactly why.

So, in 1985, he ran as a Republican for the Assembly. He campaigned in the same style of his medical career: making house calls. In a 1985 Inquirer article, Dr. Brimm said, "I'm just doing the same things I've been doing for 31 years, making house calls and identifying myself with the issues." He lost the race to Democrats Wayne Bryant and Francis Gorman. He then gave up on politics to focus on his medical practice. "He was a family physician; he took care of the whole family, from cradle until they passed," said Marilyn Gordon, clinical director of internal medicine at CAMcare.

When he wasn't visiting ill patients, Dr. Brimm enjoyed playing the piano and listening to jazz.

He frequented the old Latin Casino in Cherry Hill and met stars such as Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, his daughter said. After a stroke in the late 1980s, Dr. Brimm had to cut back his work schedule, and in 1997 he sold his practice to Cooper University Hospital. "He couldn't keep the pace he was used to, and that was really hard on him," his daughter said.

In retirement, Dr. Brimm spent a lot of time reading biographies and walking in the neighborhood. Some of his favorite subjects were Presidents Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. During his short Republican political career, Dr. Brimm was invited to the White House and met Reagan. The picture still sits in his house.

Following his graduation from Camden High School in 1942, Dr. Brimm served in the Army during World War II and was stationed in Germany for about three years. Upon returning to Camden in 1947, he enrolled at the South Jersey Law School, which became part of Rutgers University-Camden. In 1948, he went to the University of Ottawa, where he received his bachelor's degree in premed. He stayed in Canada through 1955, when he obtained his medical degree.

In addition to his wife, son and daughter, Dr. Brimm is survived by a grandson.