Thomas Anthony Schroeter

1960 - 2020

Thomas Anthony Schroeter Thomas Anthony Schroeter departed our earth on April 17, 2020, after an incredible career as a loving father, dedicated surgeon, trusted friend and beloved family member of scores of others. Tom was born August 22, 1960 in Ottawa, Canada, while his parents worked and attended medical school there. Spending his remaining life in the US, Tom spent his "growing up years" in Lloyd Harbor, Huntington, New York on the north shore of Long Island. A gifted student and athlete, Tom was top 10 in his graduating class at Cold Spring Harbor High School while also lettering in three varsity sports. He grew up as the middle of three children of Dr. Gerald and Elizabeth Schroeter - and would become a third-generation physician. If there was anyone who was drawn to a calling from birth, Tom Schroeter was born to medicine. Yet, one thing that made Tom unique from other Doctors, and many others, was his incredible ingenuity and ability to analyze and innovate. As a teen he was amazing at building almost anything, and disassembling things just to see how they worked. Later he would use that acumen to invent and build a sleep apnea detector while attending Duke University in North Carolina. Tom received his Bachelors degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke, before attending and graduating from Medical School at Wake Forest University. Tom's medical career started with a residency at his alma mater (Duke) where he first began a close affiliation with Orthopedic issues and Sports Medicine. He served as the team doctor for the national championship Duke University Basketball Team, before later moving to the Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida area in the early 1990s to open his own medical practice specializing in Orthopedics. Tom started Schroeter Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Therapy. Center in Bradenton, which has served athletes and others in SW Florida for decades. He served as Team Physician for the USBL Champion Florida Sharks and Saint Stephens High School Sports, and as Orthopedic Consultant for the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, and the Manatee Magic and Braden River Rage Soccer Clubs. The most meaningful part of Tom's entire life was, and will remain eternally, his wonderful children. Daughter, Lauren, and daughter, Katherine - these two talented and thoughtful individuals graced his life every moment of his life. Lauren Schroeter, from early on, embraced a gifted vision and talents in the visual arts, which has since evolved into a successful advertising and design career in Boston. Katherine Schroeter continues to bring the energy and passion of a successful businesswoman in Europe and America to all that she does, with the heart of the child of a medical provider. Tom's last years on this earth were graced with the love and friendship that one dreams of, and Tom's family are so thankful as was Tom for Kim Githler being that person for him. Their time together over these recent years provided Tom so much true contentment and happiness. To his many friends and colleagues in Sarasota, Bradenton, New York and everywhere, and for Tom's family across the continent - Tom will always be missed, yet ever remembered.