Dr. John J. LaRosa, 78, of Tallahassee, FL, passed away Monday, June 4, 2012, in Tallahassee.
John was born on January 8, 1934, in Bronx, NY, and had lived in Tallahassee since 1999, coming from St. Petersburg, FL. John was a retired Thoracic Surgeon and served in the United States Navy from 1984 until 1988 as a LT. Commander. He served on the USS Saratoga. John was the standby surgeon in Grenada when President Ronald Reagan visited the island. John received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College in 1955 and his Medical Degree from Duke University School of Medicine in 1964. He became a recognized doctor in the State of Florida in 1965, and also attained his license to be a Medical Examiner from The National Board of Medical Examiners in 1965. Dr. LaRosa served his internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, in 1964.
His surgery residency was served at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, from 1965 until 1967. He then served another surgical residency at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, Georgia, from 1967, until 1969. He was a Thoracic resident at Emory University Hospital, in Atlanta, Georgia from 1969, until 1971. Dr. LaRosa was certified by the American board of Surgery in 1970, and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery in 1971.
Dr. LaRosa held several posts and practices over his career; Acting Surgical Staff at Brevard Hospital in Melbourne, Florida (1971-1983), Consulting Surgical Staff at Cape Canaveral, Florida (1971-1983), Consulting Surgical Staff at Eugene Wuestoff Hospital in Rockledge, Florida (1971-1983), Surgical Staff at the Naval Hospital Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida (1984-1988), Convenient Care Clinic in St. Petersburg, Florida (1988-1997), He worked at the Florida Health Department (1997-1998), and was a Senior Physician at the Florida State Hospital (1998).
Along with his many positions held, Dr. LaRosa was a member of several Professional Societies: The American College of Surgeons, The Florida Medical Association, The Florida Thoracic Society, The Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons, and The Pinellas County Medical Society.
Dr. LaRosa published several articles and informative publications over the years. These include: “Plasmacytoma of Lymph Nodes”, The Journal of the American Medical Association (1964), “Arteriovenous Shunt Mechanism In Gastric Secretion”, The American Journal of Surgery (1968), “Heart Block and Cardiac Pacing”, The Journal of the Florida Medical Association (1978), “Blunt Traumatic Rupture Right Hemidiaphram”, Military Medicine (1987),and “Chronic Acalculous Gallbladder”, Southern Medical Journal (1988). Dr. LaRosa Also Received the Physician’s Recognition Award in 1972-1974, 1975-1977, 1978-1980, 1981-1983, 194-1986, 1987-1989, and 1990-1992.
Survivors include his wife, Deborah (Yon) LaRosa, of Tallahassee; one son, John Michael LaRosa, of Cleveland, OH; two daughters, Jennifer (LaRosa) Schwartzberg and her husband, Jeremy, of Tampa, FL, and Lauren Nicole LaRosa of Tallahassee; two sisters, Patricia (LaRosa) Thomas and her husband, Gordon, of Connecticut, and Janet (LaRosa) Hohn and her husband, Harry, of New York; three grandchildren, Logan Schwartzberg, Kayla Schwartzburg and Ava LaRosa.
Funeral services were held Thursday, June 7, at 11:00 am (CDT) 12:00 noon (EDT) at Peavy Funeral Home Chapel with Bud Guilford officiating and Tommy McClellan giving the eulogy. Interment followed in Pine Memorial Cemetery in Blountstown.
All arrangements were under the direction of Marlon Peavy at Peavy Funeral Home in Blountstown (ph. 674-2266).
