Joseph Pandolfi, 71, family physician
Dr. Joseph F. Pandolfi, 71, a family physician in South Philadelphia for more than 40 years and an ardent Mummers supporter, died Sunday, July 24, at Kennedy University Hospital-Washington Township of complications of liver cancer.
Dr. Joseph F. Pandolfi, 71, a family physician in South Philadelphia for more than 40 years and an ardent Mummers supporter, died Sunday, July 24, at Kennedy University Hospital-Washington Township of complications of liver cancer.
Dr. Pandolfi, who lived and practiced medicine on South Broad Street, was host to an open house every New Year's Day, inviting 200 friends and relatives to watch the Mummers Parade pass his front door.
In 1999, though many Mummers objected, Mayor Ed Rendell proposed shortening the parade route and moving it to Market Street to increase crowds.
Dr. Pandolfi collected more than 3,000 signatures on petitions for a coalition he helped form, the Committee to Keep the Mummers Parade on Broad Street. Despite his efforts, the parade shifted to Market Street in 2000. He told The Inquirer, "I learned an important lesson: You can't fight City Hall." But Dr. Pandolfi continued to network and gather petitions, and in 2004, the parade moved back to Broad Street.
"I love it here," he told the Philadelphia Daily News in 2008. "I love the people. I love my patients. We enjoy the camaraderie of it and the fact that we live right here on the parade route. We see a lot of people we know, and it brings out the good in everyone."
The Quaker City String Band made him an honorary member in recognition of his assistance to the Mummers.
Dr. Pandolfi graduated from St. Joseph's Preparatory School and later served on its alumni board. He earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Delta fraternity.
After graduating from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completing an internship there, he assisted a doctor in South Philadelphia before establishing his own practice in 1970. He was associated with St. Agnes Medical Center, Methodist Hospital, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Besides maintaining his practice, Dr. Pandolfi was director of occupational medicine from 1968 to 1988 for Breyers Ice Cream. In the 1980s and 1990s, he gave physicals to students in the School District of Philadelphia, and for more than 30 years he was a medical consultant for CATCH (Citizens Acting Together Can Help), a provider of community behavioral-health and developmental-disability services. He served on the board of the Tolentine Community Center and Development Corp. in South Philadelphia.
Dr. Pandolfi was a physician for the University of Pennsylvania basketball team for several years and remained an ardent Penn basketball fan, said his wife, Bernardine Trippetti Pandolfi.
He was a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association and the Philadelphia County Osteopathic Medical Society.
Medical specialists to whom he referred patients called him a first-class diagnostician, his wife said. His patients often became his close friends, she said.
Dr. Pandolfi and his wife grew up with the same circle of friends in South Philadelphia and married in 1964. They enjoyed spending time with their family at their summer home in Ventnor.
Besides his wife, he is survived by daughters Bernardine and Monica; sons Joseph, Christopher, and Michael; a brother; and five grandchildren.
Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 28, and from 9 to 10 a.m. Friday, July 29, at Baldi Funeral Home, 1331 S. Broad St. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Monica Roman Catholic Church, 1714 Ritner St. Dr. Pandolfi was a member of the Knights of Columbus at the church and was past vice president of the Holy Name Society. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.
Donations may be made to the Joseph F. Pandolfi Scholarship Fund, St. Joseph's Preparatory School, 1713 W. Girard Ave., Philadelphia 19130.