Russell J. Schiff, M.D.
Funeral Service: February 10, 2026 11:30 AM
Funeral Home: Gutterman’s Woodbury Chapel
8000 Jericho Turnpike,
Woodbury, NY 11797
Cemetery: St. Charles Cemetery
Notes:
Following chapel service, the burial will take place at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY.
Russell Jonathan Schiff, M.D.
Dix Hills, New York
Russell Jonathan Schiff, M.D. 67, of Dix Hills, New York, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on February 7, 2026. Born in New York City on November 12, 1958, Dr. Schiff received an accelerated degree at the Sophie Davis School for Biomedical Education at the City University of New York and completed his medical training at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. A devoted husband, father, bonus father, grandfather, and physician, Dr. Schiff dedicated his life to strengthening the hearts of others – both through his distinguished medical career and through the deep love he shared with the people closest to him.
As a pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Schiff devoted his professional life to caring for children with heart abnormalities and supporting the families who stood beside them. His work offered hope, clarity, and a path forward to countless young patients, and his impact on the medical community and the lives he touched will endure for generations. It was not uncommon that long after Dr. Schiff’s care for a family was completed, they would stay in contact with him, sharing the joys that came with watching their children grow up. Dr. Schiff served as the president of the Suffolk Pediatric Society from 2008-2017, the president of the Long Island Board of Directors for the American Heart Association from 2018-2020, and supported the Acampora Foundation, which seeks to raise awareness about the importance of having automated external defibrillators (AED) at schools and other public institutions, in honor of Louis J. Acampora.
Dr. Schiff met the love of his life, Deborah, while they were both working at Winthrop Hospital. Together, they supported each other’s careers, blended their families, and built a life filled with partnership, purpose, and shared dreams and plans. Their bond was a source of strength and joy – one that shaped a beautiful family and 20 years of memories.
While he was deeply committed to his professional work, his greatest joy came from being “Papa” to his six grandchildren. In this role, his warmth, playfulness, and boundless pride were unmatched. He cherished every moment spent with them, traversing the northeast and beyond for hockey and softball games, dance recitals and plays, embracing grandparenthood with the same devotion, love and spirit he brought to all aspects of his life.
Dr. Schiff will be remembered for his infectious energy, his unwavering compassion, and the profound difference he made in the lives of so many. His legacy lives on in the patients he healed, the colleagues he inspired, and most of all, the family he loved so deeply.
Dr. Schiff was predeceased by his father and stepmother, David and Maria Schiff, and his mother and stepfather, Joan and Alfred Gescheidt, and his daughter Margot Elizabeth. He is survived by his wife, Deborah, their four children, Lisa D’Ambrosio (Brian) of New York City, Michael Johnson of West Hartford, Connecticut, Morgan Zarghouni (Mehrzad) of Houston, and Harry Schiff (Katelyn) of Brooklyn, as well as six grandchildren – Andrew, Anna and Alex D’Ambrosio, Elizabeth Johnson, and Julian and Blaire Zarghouni. Additionally, Dr. Schiff leaves behind his siblings, Arnold Schiff (Faith) and Leslie Schiff, his beloved mother-in-law, Archina Lamantia, sisters-in-law Terry Cataldo (Nick) and Jeanette DeFalco, and countless nieces and nephews.
The family will be sitting shiva at their home in Dix Hills on Wednesday, February 11 from 12-3 p.m. and 5-8 p.m., as well as on Thursday, February 12 from 4-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Russell J. Schiff Memorial Scholarship Fund at Sacred Heart Academy (for more information, please contact (Craig.pinto@sacredheartacademyhempstead.org) or the Northwell Health Foundation, in memory of Dr. Russell Schiff.