Isadore E. Cutler, 83, founder of Cutler Pharmacy and a concert violinist, died Tuesday, Jan. 23, of heart failure in Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park. A child prodigy who played in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when he was only 11, Mr. Cutler chose to become a pharmacist for financial security, said his wife, Betty. Still, music remained a stable force in his daily routine. Mr. Cutler played the violin at weddings to support himself while going to pharmacy school at the University of Illinois in Chicago; later in life, he performed at friends’ homes with a trio. His talent earned him recognition and helped him secure many awards from the Chicago College of Music, where he had studied as a young man. Mr. Cutler opened his own pharmacy in Elmwood Park in the 1950s. He worked there until 1990. Betty Cutler, who affectionately called her husband her “walking encyclopedia,” said he was a humble man who touched everyone with his kindness and knowledge on all topics. “He was a quiet man, but when he spoke, he spoke pearls of wisdom,” she said. He served four years in the Army’s medical corps in World War II, beginning in 1942, just seven months after he married. Other survivors include two sons, Murray and Allan; a daughter, Janis Dorward; four grandchildren; and a great-grandson. Services were held Wednesday in Chicago.
