Dr. Ludwig Jekels died in New York City on Saturday, April 3, at the age of 87, while reading a literary journal. An hour earlier, Mrs. Jekels saw him in his favourite position on the couch, one arm resting on the pillow, looking through the journal; an hour later, the fact that he had not changed his posture aroused suspicion in Mrs. Jekels; she looked more closely and found him dead. The facial expression was calm; death must have been instantaneous, without suffering.

One of the oldest pupils of Freud, Jekels was for nearly fifty years engaged in psycho-analytic practice and in never-ending study of theoretical problems of our science. He became in later years something of a symbol and a mythological figure to the younger and middle-aged generation of analysts. He was conscious of this fact, and sometimes complained ironically, 'I don't belong to this age'.

Jekels was one of those rare personalities about whom those who knew him well received