Cosmo DiFazio MD

Cosmo Americo DiFazio, Sr., age 91, passed on August 21, 2024, in Palmyra, Virginia. He was born in Rumford, Maine in 1932. After graduating from Rutgers University, with a B.S. in Pharmacy, he went to graduate school at the University of North Carolina, receiving a Ph.D. and M.D. He served his residency program in Anesthesiology at the University Of Virginia Medical Center, and served as a clinical Anesthesiologist and Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia for nearly 40 years. He was also a pioneer in the field of regional anesthesia, conducting research on the medications that are now regularly used for epidural blocks in obstetric procedures. During the Vietnam era, he also served in the Army Reserves as a Major, attached to the Army's 56th Station Hospital in Richmond, Virginia His professional successes were secondary to his most cherished accomplishment, his family. While a student at Rutgers University, he met the love of his life, Connie, also a pharmacy student. They were married for 62 years, before her death in 2017. He credited her as the reason behind all of his professional successes. They had 5 children, Cosmo Jr., Michael, Charlie, Maria and Patrick. They also enjoyed spending time with their daughter-in-laws (Faye, Bonnie, Diane, and Cathy), their thirteen grandchildren (Cosmo, Michael, Emma, Ryan, Cody, Melissa, Kevin, Arielle, Greg, Kyle, Andrew, Bella and Francie) and three great grandchildren (Jaclyn, Wyatt and Dean). Cosmo is preceded in death by his parents, Cosmo and Maria, his beloved wife Connie, and his older brother Anthony. He is survived by his five children, 13 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren, He is also survived by brother Louis DiFazio and sister Mary Peterson. He is also survived by a host of colleagues and friends who he considered part of his family. A viewing will be held at Teague Funeral Home, in Charlottesville, Va., on Wednesday September 4th between 5 and 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m., on September 5th at the Church of St. Peter and Paul, in Palmyra, Va. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Cosmo DiFazio Research Chair for the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia, or the American Cancer Society.