Lawrence William DeSanto M.D.

Hello DeSanto family,
Never met the DeSanto family, but my late uncle Fred Haeffner often talked about Dr. Larry DeSanto and that he had started a Mayo Clinic in the Phoenix area.
God Bless Larry
Charlie Haeffner

To the DeSanto family,
I am so sorry to learn of the passing of Dr. DeSanto. I was at the remembrance for Dr. Richard Hill this evening and Dr. DeSanto was mentioned by one of the speakers as a positive force at Mayo Clinic when it opened in 1987. Which of course brought back to mind the times I was assigned to work with Dr. DeSanto on his ENT courses. He cared about patients. He knew there were gaps in physician otolaryngology knowledge and he wanted to provide education that could help them provide better patient care. He always seemed very serious, but appeared to listen and contemplate everything being said. Many years ago, I saw this friendly, fluffy, white puppy come around the corner; there to my surprise was Dr. DeSanto holding the leash. Dr. DeSanto seemed so relaxed and happy to be bringing his puppy around to the different departments to bring a smile to our faces. My colleague, Jenny would always have a treat to provide. It was nice to see Dr. DeSanto and his puppy make their rounds and we missed them when they no longer showed. Dr. DeSanto was a major force in Otolaryngology and he passed the torch on when he retired. I am glad I was able to work with him and see how he could impact change. Again, I am sorry for your loss.

I met Larry at Cannon AFB, NM. He was a physician and I was corpsmen. We were both tapped to go on a TDY to Takhli, Thailand. On one occasion we both went to Bangkok for a day trip. If someone has a picture of him standing in front of the king's palace I was the one who took it! (No selfies back then.)
He wanted to take a couple of brass tea sets back to the states and he realized that he would have pay duty on the lot unless someone helped by declaring it as his. He offered to provide me with a fifth of whiskey in return for declaring one of his sets. When I gave him the set, he gave me a bottle of Old Guggenheim. (The two senior corpsmen on this TDY advised me that O.G. was "mission whiskey" and he, as the flight surgeon, got it for free.) He ultimately ponied up with a bottle of Johnny Walker---and we were both satisfied. He was an okay guy; I'm glad he lived a long happy life and contributed so much to his family, community and his country. From 1963 I am Charles "Chuck" Swanson, A1C (Ph.D).

I met Larry in the 90s and I can only say good words about him. He came to Madrid, Spain on several occasions and we enjoyed many good moments together working together in surgery, having a few beers, ham, wine and olives, playing golf, etc.. and his memory for me es indelible. Great friend and best teacher, I learned many things from him, but above all in my memory his goodness will always remain. A great person has left us. Rest in Peace

I don't know where to begin in describing my relationship with Larry. For over 30 years he was my golfing buddy, my flying buddy, and my best friend. Larry and I first met shortly after he moved to Arizona with the Mayo Clinic. He stopped in to my flying business at the Scottsdale Airport shortly after he arrived from Rochester looking for an airplane to rent. Thus began a friendship which would last for the next 33 years. We both had military aviation backgrounds and shared a passion for golfing, flying, and enjoying good food and wine. Competition on the golf course, with bets of $1 for each hole won, was intense at times. Larry liked to tell others with whom we were playing golf how in twenty-five years of competing with each other, less than $25 dollars had changed hands. Goodbye and good luck my friend as you head West. I shall miss you.

LARRY AND I ENJOYED A NUMBER OF YEARS GOLFING TOGETHER WITH " THE WILSON GROUP "

One of the very first meetings I attended as a first year resident was in Palm Springs with Larry as the featured speaker/instructor in 1974. I made it a point to get to know him as he was obviously one of the giants of Head and Neck Cancer Surgery. Imagine my surprise when I received a call from him in 1987 asking to meet to discuss his move to AZ with regards who the major players were in his chosen sub specialty. We remained friends thru the years. I am so very lucky to have known him.

It was such a pleasure to know Larry. We especially enjoyed our Friday night dinners at his favorite Italian restaurants. And Paula appreciated his ENT advice years ago when her head and neck cancer battle began. May God bless you and Larry's entire family, Loralee.

Grief can be so hard, but our special memories help us cope. Remembering you and your loved one today and always.

Dr. DeSanto was the physician I dealt with at Mayo Clinic about 36 years ago when I was a scared 13 year old undergoing surgery for a life threatening tumor in my nose. Dr. DeSanto was kind, understanding, and explained things so well to me. The surgery he did saved my life, for which I am forever grateful. I can remember him speaking to me like it was yesterday-he made that much of an impression on me. He changed my life forever by keeping me alive! I'm saddened by hearing about his passing... I wish there were more people like him in the world.

I am sad to hear this news. Dr. DeSanto work with my father at Mayo for many years and I have fond memories of him and the stories my dad told me. I hope you find it special that every time I see a small plane flying over my house I think of Dr. DeSanto.