Fittipoldi John

Our beloved John passed peacefully at home on June 24, 2017 at the age of 95 years.

John was born in Philadelphia on September 16, 1921 to Carmella(Famiglietti) and John Fittipoldi. He was the youngest of seven children and spent his youth in Narberth, Pennsylvania, graduating from Lower Merion High School in 1939.

He received his BS degree from Bucknell University and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. He received his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical School, and interned at Philadelphia General Hospital.

John served in the U.S. Navy throughout medical school and internship and then was on active duty in the U.S. Naval Medical Corps from 1947-1949, serving in the Pacific Theater on the U.S.S. Bronx sailing to Pacific ports and China.

He served his residency in Internal Medicine from 1950-1953 at Philadelphia General Hospital. He also has graduate degrees from Cornell Medical College, NY City and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He studied Isotope Methodology 1953-1954 at Hahnemann Medical College and Electrocardiography

at University of California School of Medicine 1956-1957. He was Assistant Instructor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania 1950-1953 and Instructor,

Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania 1953-1955. He was appointed Assistant Chief of Medicine, Philadelphia General Hospital and University of Pennsylvania, 1953-1955.

He met a young nurse named Faye Faux at PGH and they married in 1952. In 1953 son John, III was born and in 1954 son William Edwin was born. In 1955 they set off for the wild west and John served as Chief of Medicine at the Indian Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona where daughter Judith Ellen was born. In July, 1956, John began a six year stint as Chief of Medicine at the Veterans’ Home of California in Yountville. He and Faye both fell in love with the Napa Valley and made many lasting friendships in those early years.

In 1962 he opened his private medical practice in Napa, where he served his patients and the Queen of the Valley Hospital for 22 years. He got the wonderlust again and off he and Faye went to Saudi Arabia with a one year contract that ended seven years later. They lived and worked in Al Baha, Riyadh, and Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They were also able to take trips to Africa, Europe and Asia as well as other parts of the Middle East. John retired completely in 1993.

John loved sports and excelled in tennis, winning many trophies in singles and doubles, including a cup inscribed “Championat du Monde” which he won at the Monte Carlo Tennis Club in the presence of Prince Ranier. He was an organizer and president of Napa Valley Tennis Association and a member of both Napa Valley Country Club and Silverado Country Club. He served various positions in the Napa County Medical Society, Napa County Heart Association, Napa County Lung Association, Napa County Cancer Association. He was a member of the Elks Club of Napa, the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, Marines Memorial Association of San Francisco. He was appointed to the State of California Emergency Medical Advisory Committee in Sacramento and the U.S. Department of Health National Advisory Committee in Bethesda, Maryland. He was a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Allergy and Immunology.

John truly was a gentleman and a scholar. John is beloved by his family and friends. He was always caring, kind, generous- and sincere. He was a good sport and didn’t tolerate poor sportsmanship. And above all, he loved his family. He was so proud of his children and grandchildren and newborn great grandson. And he had close friends he looked forward to being with on the golf course or at lunch in town.

John loved the practice of medicine and worked long hours the old fashioned way. He spent time with each patient and he made rounds twice daily, morning and evening visiting patients in the hospital, nursing homes or house calls. He would rotate on-call weekends with Doctors Block, White and Seibert.

John was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Nicholas, Edwin, and William and his sisters Jean, Eleanor and Julia. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Faye, and his children John,III, William (Theresa), and Judith Hutchison (Brian). Also his grandchildren, Giovanna Saldana (Abraham), Sean Hutchison, and John Fittipoldi, IV ( “J.J.”), and a brand new great grandson, Zachary Tobiah Saldana. He is also survived by many loved in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins. We all will miss him terribly.

There was a private family funeral. There will be a Celebration of John’s Life at Silverado Country Club on Wednesday, July 26 from 1:00p.m.-4:00 p.m.. All who knew and loved John are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Collabria Care Hospice, Queen of the Valley Hospital Foundation, Napa Valley Tennis Association or a charity of choice.

Memories may be shared with the family at www.tulocaycemetary.org.

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