ROBERT GILBERT MONSOUR M.D.

MONSOUR
ROBERT GILBERT, M.D.
[b. April 6, 1916 - d. April 23, 2013] Dr. Robert G. Monsour passed away peacefully in his sleep April 23 at the age of 97. "Dr. Bob", as he was known to his many patients and friends, was the patriarch of the Monsour medical family, and practiced medicine in the Greensburg area for over 60 years. Born in Jeannette to Michael S. and Eva N. Monsour, Dr. Bob graduated from Jeannette High School. With his brother Roy he co-founded the Royal Extract Company to defray the costs of schooling, a venture which proved so successful it nearly derailed his career goals. After attending the University of Alabama for two years Dr. Bob enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh, where he received his Bachelor of Science and Medical degrees. Following his graduation in 1943, Dr. Bob completed his internship at the St. Francis Hospital and pursued post-graduate studies at Columbia University in New York. He then enlisted in the Army Medical Corps, attaining the rank of Captain. He was Honorably Discharged in 1946, and opened his first medical office in Greensburg. In 1947 Dr. Bob was recognized as the first physician in Westmoreland County to administer penicillin. In 1952 he, together with his physician brothers Roy and Howard, founded the Monsour Hospital and Clinic in Senator Brown's Mansion on Lincoln Highway (now Route 30), his residence at the time, where they were later joined by youngest brother William. The hospital and its companion Monsour Medical Foundation grew and thrived throughout the 1970s, eventually totaling a 252 bed hospital and a charitable foundation which awarded numerous full nursing and medical school scholarships. Preferring to leave the limelight to others, Dr. Bob devoted his attention to his medical practice and the patients he cared for. In later years it was not unusual for Dr. Bob to treat the children of babies he delivered. His first love, however, was house calls, which he continued to make into his early 90s. As he once noted, "for years I kept my patients going, now they keep me going." Dr. Bob was an avid golfer and a longtime member of Greensburg Country Club, where he and his brother Roy were a formidable twosome, often defeating opponents decades their junior. He was particularly proud of his nearly 40 year unbroken attendance at The Masters, to which he received the press credentials of the Latrobe Bulletin when he was credited with saving the life of its then-owner Tom Whiteman. He often said that being the reporter for Arnold Palmer's hometown newspaper at the world's greatest golf tournament "was as good as it gets." In later years Dr. Bob passed the mantle of his medical practice to his physician son and longtime partner Geoffrey, dedicating himself to his duties as Medical Director of the Dr. Bob Medical Weight Loss Program which he founded in 1948, making it Pennsylvania's oldest and largest medically-supervised weight management program. In 1966 he purchased Huntington Farm, his home in Ligonier, where he spent the last chapter of his life among his beloved western Pennsylvania hills. He was preceded in death by his brothers Roy C. Monsour, M.D. and William J. Monsour, M.D., his first wife, Jane Sheetz and their daughter, Valerie Bechtel, and his second wife Lorna Dishington. He is survived by his brother Howard P. Monsour, M.D., his three sons, Robert D. Monsour, J.D. of Murrysville, Roy C. Monsour, M.D. of Ligonier and Geoffrey B. Monsour, M.D. of Greensburg, grandchildren Jamie Bechtel, Robbie, Meredith, Christopher, Lauren, Racheal, Audrey, and Geoffrey Monsour, Amanda (Monsour) Stephens and Margeaux (Monsour) Cronce, and sisters-in-law Cicely Monsour and Helen Monsour, M.D. Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate the life of Robert in the CLEMENT L. PANTALONE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 409 W. Pittsburgh Street, Greensburg, PA 15601, (724) 837-0020 on Thursday 6-8 p.m., Friday 3-6:30 p.m. Funeral Service in First Presbyterian Church on Friday, April 26, 2013 at 7 p.m. with Rev. Martin Ankrum. Committal Service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, April 27, 2013 in St. Clair Cemetery, Greensburg. Interment will follow. Dr. Monsour's family has entrusted his care to the Pantalone Funeral Home, Inc., Greensburg. To share your memories and photos, offer your condolences, or for directions, please visit us at www.pantalone.com, Natale N. Pantalone, Supervisor.
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