Douglas S Posner

Dr. Douglas Steven Posner was born on Sept 13th, 1948 and died peacefully, though unexpectedly on August 25th, 2024 just before his 76th birthday.  Raised in Rochester, NY, he spent most of his life in Randolph, MA in a home he shared with his late wife of 47 years, Trudy Newman Posner.

Doug was an optometrist for over 40 years and was passionate about his work and care for his patients.  Operating his own small family business, Fall River Vision, along with his wife Trudy allowed him the freedom and flexibility to spend extra time with his patients getting to know them personally, explaining the details of their exams, and delivering the care he felt they warranted, regardless of their ability to pay.  He was highly beloved and retired only shortly before his passing.

In his personal life, Doug was known as an avid recycler and environmentalist who was the most thrilled person in Randolph when single stream recycling was implemented.  A minimalist when it came to life, his perfect day might include sitting quietly at home piecing together a puzzle, “futzing” around the house doing little projects, or playing chess with his weekly chess club friends in Fall River (a regular staple in his life for more than 30 years).  He loved summers spent with his wife and children on Martha’s Vineyard and would look forward to those weeks all year.   

Others came to know him for his dry and witty sense of humor that often came in the form of bad puns, which would frequently be displayed on an array of t-shirts that composed his casual wardrobe (along with flannel shirts).

Most importantly, throughout Doug’s life, he was known as a giver.  Fiercely devoted to his patients, this devotion was only surpassed by the time he gave freely to his family, most prominently in his later years in his role as “Papa”.  He was highly beloved by his children, Jeffrey (Lisa) Posner and Lauren Posner, his grandchildren, Leah and Zachary, and siblings Alan (Suzanne) Posner and Pat Posner, all of whom will miss him deeply.     

In one final act of recycling, he was able to donate several organs, thus ensuring even more lives are touched by his many gifts.

A Memorial Service will be held Monday Sept 2, 2024 at 10am at Robert J. Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home, 1803 Centre Street, West Roxbury, MA 02132 with shiva to follow in Newton from 1-5pm. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org, The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) https://www.nrdc.org, or The Center for Science in the Public Interest https://www.cspinet.org.