Dr. Frederick Michael Silvers, a Brentwood resident of more than 30 years, passed away in his home on October 19, 2025. He was 84.
Dr. Silvers, considered a savant in medicine and the arts, was also a passionate father and loving husband. Born August 8, 1941, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dr. Silvers was known for his steadfast dedication to his patients throughout his nearly 60-year career as a psychiatrist, who specialized in psychopharmacology, Jungian psychoanalysis, and the spiritual significance of the psyche.
He was a graduate of North High School in North Minneapolis. He received his Bachelor Art’s degree in philosophy in 1963 from the University of Minnesota. He was selected to Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, which is typically an honor given to students in the top 10 percent of their class.
Dr. Silvers earned his medical degree from UC San Francisco School of Medicine in 1967. He completed his psychiatry residency at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and served as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Dr. Silvers, who had a private practice for more than 40 years, worked as Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at UCLA from1973 to 1977, and Attending Physician at UCLA from 2000-2010.
He was given the Physicians Recognition Award for Continuing Medical Education 1997-2006, Master Clinician Award – Master Psychopharmacologist from the Neuroscience Education Institute at UCSD (2003).
He met his wife, Christine Staehelin in Zurich, Switzerland in 1989 and they moved to Brentwood in 1990. The couple had six children who attended local schools.
A member of the Riviera Tennis Club, Dr. Silvers was an ATP-ranked professional tennis player. He gave the love of the sport to his children, coaching them at the Riviera and courts across Los Angeles. He enjoyed cheering for his children who played on the Palisades High School varsity tennis teams and would help the school win three CIF LA City Championship titles.
He was also a jazz trumpeter and pianist and shared his eclectic music taste with his children, all of whom performed at PaliHi in choir, band and theater.
A loyal Minnesota sports fan, a chess aficionado and philosopher, Dr. Silvers was a Renaissance man. Growing up in a Jewish family, he was later baptized into Christianity but followed a spiritual path open to many faiths.
He is survived by his wife Christine Staehelin Silvers: children Richard (Holly Quist), Elizabeth, Robert, Joseph, Diana, and Sarah Silvers; sister Sherry Cook; cousin Mickey Bearman. He was predeceased by his parents, Robert Silvers and Miriam Levens Silvers Zukerman.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which will also be livestreamed. The password is Silvers11 and meeting ID is 824 9451 8969 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82494518969?pwd=DCjjNl06pLKaHLaIY5bQu2IdzZajmB.1
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the UCSF Medical Scholarship Fund or University of Minnesota Scholarship Fund in Philosophy.