Dr. Rocco J. Vitacca, age 90, passed away on October 14, 2024, at his home in Sarasota Florida after a long illness. He was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1934 to the late Joseph and Emma Vitacca. Rocco had a younger brother Lyle who passed away in 2001.
Rocco graduated in 1956 from Loyola University in Chicago with a degree in biology and was commissioned through ROTC into the US Army. He then attended medical school at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, and graduated in 1960 as the valedictorian of his medical school class. After completing a rotating internship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, he served for two years as a Battalion Surgeon in the US Army’s 3rd Armored Division in Germany during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1964 he was honorably discharged from the Army and began his private medical practice.
Over the years, Dr. Vitacca held a doctor’s license and practiced medicine in Canada, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Texas. He was a diplomat of the American Academy of Family Physicians and was extremely active in both hospital and community affairs. At various times he was the hospital chairman of his specialty, hospital Chief of Staff, the Rock County Medical Society President, and the director of Rock County Wisconsin’s emergency medical services. He originated the first fire department paramedic service in southern Wisconsin and was the medical director of the Janesville Wisconsin Fire Department Paramedic service from 1975 to 1985. Additionally, he was the chairman of the emergency medical services board that coordinated all emergency medical services for an 11-county area in Southern Wisconsin. This organization included all fire, police, ambulance, hospital and other emergency medical services in those counties, and established protocols for the triage, transport, and care of all medical emergencies. This organization was highly successful, and as a result of this success, Dr. Vitacca was awarded the Lunda Trauma Award from the American Trauma Society as the individual who contributed the most to the advancement of emergency medical services in Wisconsin in 1982.
In 1985, Dr. Vitacca left private practice and joined Sanus Health Systems, an early Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) provider. He was the National Medical Director of Sanus, and at times served as the CEO of the HMO in various cities. He then went on to create Sanus West, a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), organizing medical providers to serve the employees of McDonnell Douglas Aircraft in southern California. Later, he founded and led AllNet PPO for the same client. In 1995, he sold AllNet to Cigna Health Systems and retired.
Rocco had many hobbies including fishing, sailing, competitive shooting, hunting, lapidary and woodworking. He was an ardent aviator and boater. He held commercial, instrument, multi-engine land pilot licenses, and was also a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain. After retirement Rocco stopped flying, but he continued boating and piloted his trawler around the Caribbean on numerous occasions with his wife Sharon.
Rocco was also an accomplished photographer and artist. He created numerous watercolor and acrylic paintings for family and friends, and for many years he hand-painted hundreds of watercolor Christmas cards which have been collected by those who received them. He created books of wildlife photographs, mainly birds, and he had a large following on the internet viewing his photographs and descriptions of wildlife on his daily email newsletter entitled “Wild Kingdom.”
Rocco is survived by his wife Sharon and his former wife Mary Ann. He and Mary Ann had three children: Judith Brooks, a registered nurse; John Vitacca (Amy), a retired Air Force Colonel; and Julie Novak (Ronald), a residential realtor. He is also survived by five grandchildren from his former marriage: Michael and Matthew Vitacca, Hannah Novak, and Taylor and Nicholas Brooks, as well as two great grandchildren, Matthias and Sofia Vitacca, children of John’s son Michael and his wife Annie. Additionally, he is survived by Marlowe and Colette George, children of Sharon’s daughter Sonja and her husband Thomas George.
Rocco was an amazing person of enormous talent, ambition, accomplishments, and fortitude. He contributed immensely to the welfare and enjoyment of his family and fellow man. The “dash” in his life, between 1934 - 2024, was well lived - indeed!
Visitation is from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 2nd, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. at Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Home at Palms Memorial Park in Sarasota Florida. Rocco will be interred at the Sarasota National Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Audubon Society honoring Rocco’s love of birds and wildlife over the years, or Tidewell Hospice Foundation to recognize their care during his last days.
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