Dr. Robert L. Lombardo

Dr. Robert L. Lombardo died on Aug. 12, 2008, at The Westerly Hospital, an institution he had devotedly served as Chief of Medicine, President of the Medical Staff, Chief of Staff, and as a Trustee of the hospital for 10 years.
Born on March 21, 1927, in Pawcatuck, the youngest of the late Charles and Sarah Lombardo's ten children, he attended St. Michael's School and graduated from Stonington High School in 1943.
He spent two years at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh before joining the U.S. Navy and serving in the Pacific theatre during World War II. Following the war, he resumed his studies and graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1949 with a B.S. degree in engineering. Upon graduation, he attended Columbia University in New York for a year before traveling to Italy to earn his Doctor of Medicine at the venerable Bologna Medical School, Italy from 1950 to 1955.
Dr. Lombardo returned to the United States in 1955 and completed his internship and residency at the Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven. It was there that he met his wife, Beatrice Ann Kennedy; a nurse at St. Raphael's. They were married in 1958.
After serving as the Chief Resident of Internal Medicine at the Hospital of St. Raphael in 1959, Dr. Lombardo joined the Medical Group in Pawcatuck; which relocated to Westerly in 1962.
He remained associated with the group for over 20 years before leaving in 1983 to establish a private medical practice, with which to continue his vocation.
After his retirement in 1992, Dr. Lombardo continued to serve the community by volunteering his time at the Wood River Health Center in Hope Valley and through the St. Michael's alumni association. He was also a member of the Misquamicut Club, the Watch Hill Yacht Club, the Watch Hill Conservancy, and RISC.
In addition to his love for his family and medicine, Dr. Lombardo had a lifelong enthusiasm for black and white photography. In his adult life, he developed a passion for both sailing his WH-15 and the game of golf.
He is survived by his wife, Beatrice Kennedy Lombardo; his children, Denise and Jim Myers, Robert Lombardo Jr., David and Elise Lombardo, Paul Lombardo, and Jeffrey and Michelle Lombardo; his sister, Lena Siller; his brother, Charles Lombardo; his four granddaughters, Cayla, Devon, Ellie, and Emma; and, his five grandsons, Peter, Gregory, Dylan, Luke and Quinn.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., at the Buckler-Johnston Funeral Home, 121 Main St., Westerly. The funeral liturgy will be in St. Michael Church, Saturday, at 11 a.m.
One of Dr. Lombardo's final wishes was that, in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory be made to the St. Michael School Educational Endowment Trust, 63 Liberty St., Pawcatuck, CT 06379.
For online condolences and shared memories, www. buckler-johnston.com