Dr Essie Sassoon retired as Deputy Head of Department at Barzilai Medical Centre in Ashkelon, Israel. Born in the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin, she attended St Teresa's Convent School and later Maharaja's College in Ernakulam. She graduated in medicine from the Trivandrum Medical College and specialized in obstetrics and gynaecology in Madras (now Chennai). After a stint at Calicut (now Kozhikode) Medical College as Specialist Associate Professor, she volunteered for duty in Israel during the Yom Kippur War and worked at Telashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan, staying on in Israel after the war. Twice honoured for meritorious service, she now devotes her time to her hobbies -cooking, sport and folk dancing.
