* Howard E. Braitman; Cardiovascular Surgeon

Howard E. Braitman, the former director of cardiovascular surgery at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, died Thursday at his Santa Paula home of bone cancer. He was 56.

Born Aug. 25, 1939, in Baltimore, Md., Braitman graduated from Cornell University in 1961 and earned his doctorate from John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1966.

A Navy surgeon in Oakland from 1971 until 1974, he moved to Ventura County in 1975.

In 1979, Braitman co-founded Community Memorial Hospital’s cardiovascular surgery program, where he served as director until 1988. He was also a surgeon at UCLA Medical Center from 1974 until 1990.

His wife, Lynn, said her late husband was a perfectionist and respected surgeon.

“He didn’t care about [hospital] politics, and he didn’t care about rules,” she said. “He cared about providing the best possible care for his patients, and the rest of the world be damned. Needless to say, he had numerous friends and admirers and people whom he annoyed as well.”

Braitman retired from medical practice in 1989 because of illness.

He was an avid outdoorsman and fisherman who enjoyed visiting the couple’s cabin in Oregon.

Survivors include a daughter, Laurel Braitman, and son, Jake Braitman, both of Santa Paula; mother, Rose Braitman of Baltimore, Md.; sisters, Barbara Braitman of Baltimore and Linda Braitman of New York City; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Michael and Millie Grossman of Los Angeles.

Memorial services are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Temple Beth Torah in Ventura with Rabbi Michael Berk officiating. Private burial was in Santa Barbara Cemetery in Santa Barbara.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Nature Conservancy or the Wilderness Society.

Arrangements are by Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.