Charles Curtis Meltzer, M.D., 86, died peacefully on Sunday, December 17, 2017, at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville in the company of his two adult children. He was adored and revered his entire life, which began on the island of Key West, Florida, on October 9, 1931. The only child of Margaret Ellen Curtis and Isadore Nathan Meltzer, he was certified by the Florida Genealogical Society as a fifth-generation pioneer. Dr. Meltzer was a descendent of Benjamin Curry, a capable and adventurous seaman and patriarch of Key West�s celebrated Curry family, one of the islands first settlers who successfully ran the Federal Naval Blockade during the Civil War.

In the mid 1930s, Dr. Meltzer and his family moved from Key West to Miami where he lived the first half of his life. His father, Nathan Meltzer was a successful entrepreneur and founder of Flagler Federal Savings and Loan. After attending Edison High School, Dr. Meltzer attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1953, and Duke University where he received his medical degree in 1957.

Dr. Meltzer served as an Air Force captain in the Korean War. He completed his medical residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and had two children with his first wife, Frances Woolard. He married Enid Ashurst on December 30, 1968.

Dr. Meltzer ran a successful radiology practice for more than 20 years, serving as Chief of Radiology at AMI Parkway Regional Medical Center in North Miami. He was admired by his colleagues as a charismatic and highly competent physician leader and innovator, pioneering the use of catheters for interventional radiologic procedures.

After a successful medical career, Dr. Meltzer retired in 1988 and moved to Highlands, North Carolina, where he began a second career as a college undergraduate. After spending the first half of his life devoted to the scholarly pursuit of the sciences and his medical profession, Dr. Meltzer took a full-time course load of liberal arts classes in history, literature, philosophy and religion. Described by friends and family as a true Renaissance man, Dr. Meltzer was not only an accomplished physician, pilot and boat captain, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of history and literature. He was a talented artist, photographer and woodworker. He was unassuming and authentic with deep integrity and a rich sense of humor.

Dr. Meltzer and his wife bought a winter home in Amelia Island in 1997, moving there full time in 2003. Dr. Meltzer was preceded in death by his wife, Enid, in August 2017. The couple would have celebrated their 50th anniversary last month. He is survived by his two children John Curtis Meltzer and Elizabeth Boulenger; son-in-law Bo Boulenger; first wife Frances Meltzer; and grandchildren, Morgan and Drew.

In accordance with his wishes, family and close friends will gather to celebrate Dr. Meltzer�s life, and his ashes, along with those of his wife, Enid, will be laid to rest together.