Dr. Albert Prescott Ribisi M.D.

1923 - 2019

Dr. Albert Prescott Ribisi, M.D.
July 17, 1923 - February 22, 2019
Former Resident of San Jose
Albert Prescott Ribisi passed peacefully at age 95 on February 22, 2019. The 8th child of Sicilian immigrants, Salvatore and Maria Ribisi, he is survived by his five children: Albert Anthony, Mary Ann Scolari, Mark, Robert and John; 13 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren.
Born on July 17, 1923, in San Jose, CA, Alberto spent his childhood working on his father's apricot and prune orchards. The Depression gave him a keen insight into the benefits of hard work, independence, and family. As a young boy, he sold newspapers for a penny in front of Original Joe's and the Sainte Claire Hotel.
Albert was smart and enterprising, graduating early from San Jose High School, then earning a BS degree at the University of California Berkeley. Shortly after graduation, at the height of WW II, the Navy drafted him as a Pharmacist's Mate. He found himself suturing casualties coming home from the Pacific sector.
After the war, the Navy sent him to Loyola Medical School in Chicago and during a visit to the West Coast, he met Anne Kathleen Delsman. After a whirlwind romance, they married in 1947 and returned to Loyola where he received his medical degree in 1948.
Returning to San Jose, Dr. Ribisi worked as a resident at Santa Clara County Hospital, but again his education was interrupted when the Army drafted him in the early 50s.
In 1953, he was deployed to the 8063rd MASH unit (44th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) in Korea. He regularly spent up to 16 hours a day saving casualties from both our side and theirs. He received the Bronze Star for his service and an image of him operating is etched on the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Al returned stateside to finish his surgical residency and decided to resume his education at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Seventeen years and two wars after starting at UC Berkeley, he brought the family home to San Jose in 1957.
In addition to running a successful surgical practice for the next 30 years, he served briefly as Chief of Surgery at O'Connor Hospital.
On November 2, 1968, Al and Anne opened their home to a young Japanese exchange student, Tae Kodama. What began as a simple Japanese student exchange program extended a lifetime as Tae became like a daughter to Al and Anne.
After the death of Anne, he met and married Constance Franck. Connie and Al spent many happy years together enjoying retirement in the desert until Connie's passing in 2017. Connie was survived by four children, Cecily, Chris, Sarah, and Emily, all of whom were close to Al.
An avid golfer and card player, Al spent many years at San Jose Country Club where he taught his children the game. Late in life, he joined his sons in Southern California for the "10,000-Game Family Gin Rummy Tournament," where he soundly defeated the boys, winning his final game the day before he passed.
He will be remembered for his devotion to his family, his Catholic faith, his Sicilian heritage, his enthusiasm, his smile, and his wonderful baritone, often breaking out into an Al Jolson song in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
The man remained a confidant, mentor, and friend to us all. He will be missed.
Contact al@alribisi.com; https://dralribisi.weebly.com/


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