He leaves his wife of 25 years, Janet (Page) Santoscoy; his daughters Susan Santoscoy and Deirdre Santoscoy; his son Gregory Santoscoy; his sister Y.I. Santoscoy; his sister Minerva Breen and husband Matthew Breen; his brother Norman Santoscoy and wife Lily Santoscoy; his grandchild Benjamin Goldschmidt; his uncles Manny and Luis Santoscoy; his nieces Lydia Santoscoy and Natasha Breen; his nephews Jeff Santoscoy, Chris Santoscoy, and Kenneth Breen; as well as many other relatives and more friends than can be counted.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, the son of Salvador and Carmen Santoscoy, he attended Austin High School and matriculated at Texas Western College at age 16. He finished an M.D. degree at Southwestern Medical School at age 23. Subsequently, he completed an internship at (Emory) Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He was an Army physician at Killeen Base in Texas as a Captain from 1963 to 1965 with the Defense Atomic Support Agency. An arduous general surgery residency followed Army service at the Mayo Clinic. He moved to Wichita Kansas and lived there with his family for the next five decades. In addition to being held in high esteem in private surgical practice, he finished his career by spending more than a decade caring for veterans at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita. He had over 25 years of service as a surgical instructor for the University of Kansas- Wichita. He held numerous medical leadership positions while in Kansas and had harmonious relationships with his peers.
Gilbert was a wonderful father and a devoted husband. He truly took an abiding interest in the lives of people around him. The desire to help others and innate goodness were his hallmark characteristics. He wanted a better world. To that end, he helped thousands of people in a myriad of ways during his lifetime. His patients benefited greatly from his competence and compassion over the 50 plus years of his medical practice.
He loved the outdoors and excursions to the mountains of Colorado. His adventures included a visit to the Mayan pyramids of Mexico and a long trip through western Canada to Alaska. Gilbert loved dogs, especially mischievous rat terriers.
Public visitation is on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020 from 5-9 PM at Evergreen East Funeral Home 12400 Montana Ave, El Paso. TX. Vigil/Rosary thereafter at 7 PM. Funeral mass to be held at St. Patrick Cathedral 1118 N. Mesa, El Paso TX at 1:30 PM on Monday Feb. 3, 2020. Graveside services will be held after the mass is completed at Evergreen East Cemetery.
