Dr. Rudolph J. Panaro

Dr. Rudolph Panaro died peacefully in his sleep on January 23, 2021 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in November of 2020. He lived a full and vibrant life of 91 years, the last 60 in his home in King of Prussia with Ellen, his wife of 65 years. He raised five children and was known affectionately as “Papa” to his 9 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He was born in 1929 in Peckville, just outside of Scranton, PA as the second son to Antonio, an Italian immigrant from Albarello, Italy, and Louise Turon Panaro. His father died when Rudy was less than 2 years old. And when he was six, his mother arranged for him and his older brother, Don, to attend a boarding school, Girard College, two hours away in Philadelphia. Girard was started by Stephen Girard in 1848 to care for and develop fatherless boys and is still in operation today. Rudy would often say that Girard was the best thing that could have happened to him. It was while attending Girard that he forged lifelong friendships with other boys who grew up without a father. He never considered himself an orphan but chose, instead, to consider himself lucky to have had such a great education, which would inspire him to be a medical doctor. After graduating from Girard in 1947, he earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton and a Medical Degree from the Temple School of Medicine. In 1955, he married the love of his life, Ellen Brennan, at a ceremony in Scranton. Ellen, one of 8 children in a large Irish family, was the spice and vigor added to the quiet and mild-mannered life he lived with his mother and brother. After completing his residency in Philadelphia, he joined the US Army. With their first child, Kathy, along for the 24-hour military transport, their new family moved to Baumholder, Germany, where their second child, Robert, was born. They stayed in Germany for three years, where Rudy delivered over 300 babies in one year for military families stationed overseas. He and Ellen often referred to those as the best years of their lives. They returned to Philadelphia and he became the in-house Physician for the General Electric (GE) Space Center, where he worked on a part time basis for 35 years. His full-time job was in private practice as a family doctor in King of Prussia. For most of his 55 years practicing medicine, he worked from his home in a converted carport with a waiting room, two examining rooms, and an administrative office. Patients came to his home office six days each week. He would spend most weekdays awake by 6:00am, don a suit and tie to visit patients at Montgomery and Sacred Heart hospitals, drive to GE to perform physicals until noon, have a quick lunch then see patients from 12:30 to 5:30, promptly eat dinner at 5:30 with his family (often while on the phone with a patient or pharmacy or another doctor), return to the office for more patient visits until 9:00pm. Then he would relax until 10:00pm (often reading the newspaper or patient reports) and drop to his knees on the side of his bed and say prayers every night. Often, he was woken in the night to attend to an emergency and wake up to start it all again at 6:00 am. Being a physician was truly his calling. God designed him to be a doctor and he followed that divine instruction with great dedication, grace, insight, light-heartedness, and appreciation. He loved being a doctor. He estimated he served 5000 patients in his private practice, many from multi-generational families in the Upper Merion community. After moving to King of Prussia in 1960, he and Ellen had four more children, David, Maryellen, Christopher, and James, who did not survive childbirth in 1969. First and foremost, Rudy was a doctor, practicing medicine for over 55 years. He loved to travel, (especially to Aruba and other warm destinations in the winter), corny jokes, family, Philadelphia sports teams, and his life. He was a grateful and gentle man, molded in the style of Marcus Welby and Moonlight Graham, played by Burt Lancaster in Field of Dreams, complete with his black doctor’s bag and calm, humble demeanor in any situation. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ellen, his five children, daughters-in-law Cindy (married to Bob for 38 years) and Leigh Ann (married to Chris for 27 years), 9 Grandchildren, Matt (married to Jenni), Tony, Ryan, Katrina, Nicholas, Nathan, Julia, Samuel, and Jack, 4 great grandchildren Christopher, Jeremy, Tyler and Jackson. A private funeral will be held this month and a future (post Covid-restriction era) celebration of life will be scheduled when all friends and family can embrace and share laughter and memories. Donations in Rudy’s memory can be sent to the Girard College Foundation at www.girardcollege.edu/support.