John Walter Reeder M.D.

Dr. John "Jack" Walter Reeder passed away peacefully on April 5, 2025, in Sarasota, Florida, surrounded by his family. Born on March 27, 1937, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Jack was a loving husband, father, and grandfather and a highly gifted surgeon devoted to his patients and his profession. He was esteemed by his peers and known not only for his outstanding surgical skills but also for his compassion, kindness, and humility.
As the son of an Army physician, Jack grew up on military bases in the United States and overseas but considered his true home to be Charleston, South Carolina, to which he and his family returned shortly after his graduation from the Wiesbaden (Germany) American High School in June 1955. Jack's college years were spent first at The Citadel Military College of South Carolina and subsequently at the College of Charleston.
Accepted to the Tulane University School of Medicine (New Orleans, LA) after his junior year in college, Jack graduated first in his class, received the Isadore Dyer Memorial Prize for superior four-year academic achievement, and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He did his internship and most of his residency at Charity Hospital, New Orleans, where he served as Chief Resident in Surgery from July 1969 through June 1970. He received additional training in the Department of Physiology, Baylor School of Medicine, Houston, TX, and did a fellowship in Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston. He became certified by the American Board of Surgery in 1971. In addition to general surgery, he specialized in vascular, non-cardiac thoracic, and oncology surgery. He also held a special competency certification in cardiac pacing. During his training years at Charity Hospital, he served as a teaching assistant and subsequently an instructor in surgery. Between his internship and residency, Jack served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force based at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, where he was a flight surgeon.
In 1970, he moved to Sarasota to join the practice of Drs. Carlyle A. Luer, James O. Fergeson, William L. Chapman, and Franklin H. Pfeiffenberger, known as "The Group" by hospital colleagues. Following the retirement of his original partners, Jack served as president of Sarasota Surgical Specialists until his retirement from active practice in 2000. He operated both at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he was a former chief of staff, and at HCA Doctors Hospital. In 1984, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from SMH. Having received his MBA in 1999 from the Program for Physicians, University of South Florida College of Business Administration, he subsequently worked as chief administrative officer at an outpatient surgery center and then as Medical Director of Perioperative Services at SMH from 2009 until his retirement in 2013.
Jack was a Fellow, American College of Surgeons, and a Fellow, North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. In addition, he was a lifetime member of the Sarasota County Medical Society, the Florida Medical Association, and The National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Jack was a founding director of West Coast Bank in Sarasota, which eventually merged with other local banks, finally becoming the local arm of Fifth Third Bank. He was an instrument-rated pilot; a licensed boat captain; a Harley rider; an airboat operator; a world traveler; a student and lover of history, especially of World War II; and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was devoted to his friends and especially enjoyed his weekly lunches and dinners with many of them.
Jack is survived by his wife of 45 years, Meredith "Susie" Parsons Reeder; daughters Penelope Gail Obrecht and Jennifer Lee Reeder; son John Walter Reeder, Jr. (Deborah); stepsons Charles Benjamin Wheeler (Noreen), David Barton Wheeler (Allison), and K. Andrew Wheeler (Dianne); as well as grandsons Zachary, Samuel, and Wesley Reeder, and Charles, Thomas, Jack, Curt, and Nils Wheeler; great-grandsons Odin Reeder and Thomas Padgett-Wheeler; sister Jane Reeder; a niece and four nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Oscar Samuel and Dorothy Speissegger Reeder; son Robert Keith Reeder; and sister Virginia Lee Reeder.
A requiem service will take place on Friday, June 27, at 1:30 p.m., at Church of the Redeemer, 222 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota, FL 34236.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, 1515 S. Osprey Ave., Ste. B4, Sarasota, FL 34239; Dean's Fund for Excellence, Tulane University School of Medicine, Office of Advancement, 1555 Poydras St., Ste. 1000, New Orleans, LA 70112; or Church of the Redeemer.