Francis W. 'Bud' Pedrotty Jr., 85, retired surgeon

Francis W. "Bud" Pedrotty Jr., 85, of Yardley, a retired surgeon, died of kidney failure Thursday at Crestview Nursing Home in Langhorne.

Dr. Pedrotty, an Eagle Scout, grew up in Indiana. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he played varsity basketball, captained the tennis team, and was president of  the  Tau Chapter of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.

After earning a medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University, he served in the Army for 10 years. While stationed at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver, he completed an internship and a surgical residency. He was later stationed in Texas and on Okinawa.

In 1959, he treated the victims of a horrific accident in Okinawa. An Army jet on a training mission crashed into a school, killing 17 and injuring 121, including dozens of children who were severely burned.

He presented papers about his experience at a medical conference in the Philippines and later published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine. It addressed protocols for the treatment of mass casualties, which were adopted by the military and are still used in emergency rooms today, his daughter Ronnie Beth Stanley said.

After his discharge in 1961, Dr. Pedrotty joined the staff of Nazareth Hospital. From 1981 to 1991 he served as chairman of the surgery department.

After retiring as a surgeon, he worked in the hospital's emergency room until 1996.

He enjoyed playing golf and bridge at Torresdale Frankford Country Club.

Since 1948, Dr. Pedrotty had been married to Veronica Burke Pedrotty.

The couple met while working at the 30th Street post office during a Christmas season.

In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by sons Francis III, Leo, John, and Terrence; daughters Christine Brown, Colleen Miele and Noel Williamson; two brothers; a sister; 23 grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today at St. John the Evangelist Church, where Dr. Pedrotty was a Eucharistic minister, 752 Big Oak Rd., Morrisville.

Friends may call from 9 a.m.