Lawrence K Wacaser Obituary

Lawrence K Wacaser attended Lovington High School in Lovington, IL. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Lawrence K Wacaser.

Graduation Year	Class of 1955
Date of Passing	Oct 16, 2014
About	Retired Neurosurgeon Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Keyes Wacaser, 77, died peacefully on October 16, 2014, at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Five days earlier, he suffered anoxic brain damage from cardiac arrest, which resulted from tragically choking on food. Larry was born in Lovington, Illinois, on September 14, 1937, the third child of the late Paul Thornton Wacaser and Helen Keyes Wacaser. Larry was raised on a farm in rural Lovington and graduated at the top of his class from Lovington High School in 1955, where he was also Class President, and excelled on the track, baseball, and football teams, and voted "Most Valuable Player" on the basketball team. He followed in his older brother Lyle's footsteps by graduating from the University of Illinois - Champaign-Urbana in 1959, receiving his Medical Degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1962. He interned at the Maricopa County General Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1963, then completed general surgery residency at the Hines V.A. Hospital in Chicago, under the auspices of Northwestern University. He began his neurosurgical residency under Dr. Harold Voris at Mercy Memorial Medical Center in Chicago, continuing his residence training at Hines VA and the University of Illinois hospitals until he completed residency in 1969. Dr. Wacaser launched his medical practice in San Jose, Ca., in 1969. In 1975 he moved his practice back to his home state - to Springfield, Ill. There, he was in practice with his brother Dr. Lyle Wacaser, also a neurosurgeon, until 1986. He then moved to Ohio and he practiced out of Salem and East Liverpool, where he was East Liverpool City Hospital's first on-staff neurosurgeon. He retired in 1992 due to a back injury. During his later years, he split his time between South Texas and Northwestern Pennsylvania. For several years he sang in the Church Choir and volunteered at local hospitals near Pharr, Tx. His passions included playing tennis and water volleyball, watching sports, studying physics, and politics. Larry is survived by his older brother Dr. Lyle Wacaser of Springfield, Ill., and younger sister Ellen Wacaser Keyes of Lincoln, Ill.; his four children, Karin of Dallas, Tx., Michael of Phoenix, Ariz., Craig of Raleigh, N.C., and David of Plano, Tx.; five grandchildren; and his former wife, Joyce Mills Bartsch of Frisco, Tx. Larry was preceded in death by his older brother Deane Wacaser. The McMullin-Young Funeral Home of Sullivan is coordinating Dr. Wacaser's memorial service at the Lovington United Methodist Church at 241 S. Broadway in Lovington, Ill., on Sunday, December 7, 2014, at 2pm, with Visitation also at the church at 1pm. Burial will be in Hewitt Cemetery, Lovington.