Yonatan Sokal

Dr. Yonatan (Jonathan) Sokal, born on March 26, 1950, in Be’er- Sheva Israel, was a beloved child psychiatrist who practiced in Westchester County for 49 years. He passed away at the age of 73 on Tuesday October 3rd, 2023 at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Hospital after a brave two year battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He grew up in New York City and Baltimore, MD.

He graduated NYU in 1971, followed by Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he graduated in 1974. He completed his psychiatric residencies at Montefiore Hospital and New York Presbyterian’s White Plains Division where he trained under Otto Kernberg.

His career was spent both in private practice and with Westchester Boces working in numerous school districts after starting his career at Lakeland School District. His kids remember him being stopped in the street, supermarket, and random locations by former patients or their parents conveying their gratitude for the times in which he had helped their child or family member. The same sentiment was shared by his colleagues and those who trained under him over the last five decades.

He loved the water and spending time with his family at Long Beach Island, NJ where he often kayaked through the marshes of High Bar Harbor enjoying the sea breeze, sunsets, and bird watching. The room that he was in for many months before passing at the hospital had a view of the Hudson River he could have never dreamed of having, he called it “the best room in the house.”

He is survived by his mother Beverly Sokal, and his four siblings, Dina Sokal, David Sokal, Eli Sokal, and Joseph Sokal. His children and grandchildren Amy (Sokal) Gazley, her husband John and their son Cohen of Mohegan Lake, NY, his son Daniel Sokal and his wife Erica Stadler and their five children Yona, Bowen, Tevel, Declan, and Zinnia of Redding, CT, his son Evan Sokal of Brooklyn, NY, and his former wife Lisa. He was predeceased by his father Ernest Sokal.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting mental health services at The Met Council and The Coalition for Hispanic Family Services . Services will be held Ballard-Durand Funeral Home 2 Maple Avenue White Plains, NY on Sunday October 8th from 2-6pm.