Dr. Robert F. Dillon

May 3, 1924 – January 16, 2017

Dr. Robert F. Dillon, 92, of Colorado Springs, died January 16, 2017 at his home

after a short period of failing health.

He was born in Manchester, NH on May 3, 1924, to Michael J. Dillon and Ruth E.

Colby, the oldest of five siblings. His father was an Irish-firebrand immigrant and

his mother traced her English lineage back to relatives who settled in Boston,

Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1633 and later relatives who settled in Amesbury, MA

in 1654. An avid sportsman as a youth, Robert brought home many squirrels and

rabbits, trout and horned pout (catfish) for his reluctant mother to cook specifically

for Robert. Under the tutelage of grandfather Almon B. Colby, Robert farmed a

large, vegetable commercial-plot, sold produce to neighborhood stores, and also

assisted his grandfather in fur trapping and logging ventures.

He graduated from Manchester West High School in 1941, and was awarded the

Rotary Athletic-Academic scholarship among city athletes. Playing second base for

his high school and American Legion baseball teams, he was drafted by the St. Louis

Cardinals in 1941.

Instead, Dr. Dillon matriculated as a Forestry major at the University of New

Hampshire in Durham, NH in 1941; but with the advent of WWII, he joined the U. S.

Army in March of 1943. During his first year of active duty, he served as a Medical

Corpsman at Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, PA where he met his

future wife Helen Ann (born Simpson, PA), then a student nurse. Robert studied

pre-med at the University of Maryland and graduated from Temple University

Medical School in Philadelphia, PA in mid-1949.

In Manchester, NH Robert and Helen A. Banaszek were married at St. Raphael’s

Catholic Church on August 28, 1948. After 65 years of marriage, Helen died August

2013 in Colorado Springs, CO.

In 1949 Dr. Dillon was assigned to Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, CO with the

rank of First Lieutenant, Army Medical Corps, as a Resident in Anatomic and Clinical

Pathology for four years. During the Korean War, he served one year in Japan at U.S.

Army hospitals. In January 1955 he was assigned to Fort Carson Army Hospital in

Colorado Springs as Laboratory Director.

Dr. Dillon was Chief of Pathology at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, CO from

mid-1957 through 1986. He was Chief of Staff at Memorial Hospital during 1972. In

addition, he was a Consulting Pathologist for Penrose Community Hospital

(Colorado Springs); the U.S. Air Force Academy Hospital; St Thomas More Hospital

(Canon City, CO); and Heart of the Rockies Hospital (Salida, CO). Dr. Dillon was a

Clinical Instructor at the University of Colorado Medical School in Denver, CO with a

25-year certificate. During the 1970’s Dr. Dillon was race-track physician for the

jockeys and patrons at Pikes Peak Meadows horseracing track.

Dr. Dillon was Chief Consulting Pathologist for Colorado Springs Health Partners

(CSHP) Laboratories for 16 years, retiring in February 2014. He was a member of

the American College of Pathology (ACP), and American Association of Clinical

Pathologists (AACP). He was Board Certified in both Anatomic and Clinical

Pathology. Dr. Dillon was a 50-year member of the El Paso County Medical Society

and the Colorado Medical Society. He functioned as an expert witness in Forensic

Pathology for a group of defense lawyers in Colorado.

Dr. Dillon was proud of his Irish heritage – as a member of the Ancient Order of

Hibernians and traveling to Ireland, and marching in St Patrick Day parades in

Boston, MA and Manchester, NH with his late brother-in-law George W. Smith of the

Manchester, NH American Legion Sweeney Post.

Dr. Dillon was a 25-year member of the Broadmoor Golf Club, and the Colorado

Springs Country Club. During his retirement after 1986 he became a daily

communicant at St Mary’s Cathedral in Colorado Springs + offered intercessory

prayer for family and friends in his life.

Robert leaves behind sons Michael J. (Roxanne) Dillon of Colorado Springs, and

Stephen J. Dillon of Lakewood, CO; grandchildren Michael J. III and Regina K. Dillon

of Colorado Springs; and Elizabeth G. (Dillon) & Major Dominic Kiley MD and great-

granddaughters Delia Joy and Anna Felicity of Alexandria, VA and Christopher D.

Dillon of Littleton, CO. Robert is also survived by his sister Barbara (Dillon) Neilon

of Annapolis, MD; brother Donald E. Dillon MD of Bethany Beach, DE; sister Ruthie

D. (Dillon) Smith of Manchester, NH, and numerous nieces and nephews across the

country.

His parents, wife, and brother Richard A. Dillon (who drowned in 1941 in

Manchester, NH) predeceased him.

There will be no evening visitation or public viewing at his request. Mass of

Christian Burial will be Monday, February 6, 2017 at 10:00am at Divine Redeemer

Catholic Church, 927 N. Logan Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80909.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Pikes Peak Hospice &

Palliative Care in Colorado Springs.

A private inurnment will take place at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, at a

later date.

LET NOTHING DISTURB YOU

Let nothing disturb you,

Let nothing frighten you;

All things are passing;

God never changes;

Patient endurance obtains all things;

Who God possesses in nothing is wanting;

God alone suffices.

St Teresa of Avila (1515 – 1582)