Walter V. Matteucci | Doctor, 87
Walter Vincent Matteucci, 87, a retired internist and allergist, died Friday of a heart attack at Chestnut Hill Hospital, where he had been on the staff for 33 years.
Walter Vincent Matteucci, 87, a retired internist and allergist, died Friday of a heart attack at Chestnut Hill Hospital, where he had been on the staff for 33 years.
A native of South Philadelphia, Dr. Matteucci graduated from Central High School and earned a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's University. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson University Medical School in 1946, he served in the Army in occupied Germany.
Returning to Philadelphia, he interned at Philadelphia General Hospital, and completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvania. His research in the then-new field of antibiotic therapy was published in the Journal of Medicine.
While at Penn, he moonlighted at Doctors' Hospital, where he met a nurse, Anna Marie Barry. They married in 1949.
In 1955, Dr. Matteucci joined the staff of Chestnut Hill Hospital. He maintained a medical office nearby. "He developed a devoted patient population that spanned several generations," his daughter Barbara said.
After retiring in 1988, Dr. Matteucci and his wife enjoyed travel, including two trips to the Lakota Reservation in Rosebud, S.D., where he assisted at a medical clinic.
Though for the last 15 years he had physical limitations from a stroke, "he remained a lively debater of medical and social issues, a devil's advocate with a twinkle in his eye," said his daughter, a physician.
In addition to his wife and daughter, Dr. Matteucci is survived by two granddaughters. Another daughter, Joanne Cottee, died in 2002.
A Funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Our Mother of Consolation Church, 9 E. Chestnut Hill Ave. Friends may call from 9 a.m. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.