Dr. Alejandro “Alex” Pizarro of Port Charlotte died July 3, 2012. He was born in San Lorenzo and later raised in Copiapo, Chile. Alex always said he was a “Chilean by birth, but a proud American by choice.”

After graduating from the University of San Simon Medical School in Bolivia Alex became the assistant to the Professor of Physical Diagnosis. In 1965 his pursuit of further medical training led him to travel to Boston, Massachusetts where he interned at Carney Hospital. He later became a teaching fellow in Clinical Hematology at the University of Utah Medical School and then an instructor in Community Medicine at Tufts Medical School. Alex also proudly co-published, “A Variant Factor IX Deficiency in Female with 45x Turner’s Syndrome,” Blood and “Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma: An Analysis of 194 Consecutive Patients.” Alex’s main ambition was practicing Oncology, Hematology and Internal Medicine in Port Charlotte for over 20 years before retiring in 1997. He was the medical director of the Fred Farris Cancer Unit as well as the president of the Medical Staff at St. Joseph Hospital (Peace River). Alex was a firm believer in education and founded the Fred Farris (a patient and former editor of the Charlotte Sun) essay writing scholarship for high school seniors in collaboration with Bon Secours-St Joseph (Peace River) and the Sun-Herald Newspaper. In recognition of this work he later received the Education Award from the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce. He also established a nursing scholarship in his name at Edison State College. Even his interests as a youth in Chile aided him in pursuing many activities during his retirement years. At merely twelve years of age Alex began working at a radio station and later advanced to the position of the main announcer of a radio station in Chile. During this time in his life, he developed interests in translating and reading poetry. These interests continued in recent years as Alex forged his creation of translating, reading and publishing the poems of Pablo Neruda to CD. He also translated and published poems of Gabriela Mistral which were donated to the schools of Chile. Everyone who knew Alex knew of his love of learning and sports. He never missed a boxing or soccer match, or a chance to use his sharp skills at playing pool. Even recently, Alex began to undertake the new adventure of piano lessons. For anyone who knew Alex, all would have to agree that one of his most endearing qualities was his sense of humor and “wind-up, contagious laugh” especially while delivering the punch line. His laugh will always bring joy to our memories.

Alex is survived by his wife Linda, daughters Dr. Julia Pizarro (Dr. Michael Sardzinski), Sarah (Dr. Tim Daniel) Daniel, Sylvia (Rob) Kona, Claudia (Wes) Hales, Roxanna (Randy) Anderson, Belinda (Adam) Campbell, a sister, Edith Pizarro and brother, Emiliano Pizarro. Grandchildren: Emily and Katie Sardzinski; Zachary, Alejandra, Cricket and Jarrett Daniel; Sophie Kona, Nicholas, Danielle and Josh Hales and Ariella Pizarro and a very close nephew in Chile Dr. Patricio (Veronica) Gonzalez. He is preceded in death by his parents Julia and Manuel Pizarro and a brother Julio.

Visitation will be held 4:00 PM-8:00 PM, Friday July 6, 2012, at Roberson Funeral Home Port Charlotte Chapel with a Catholic Wake Service at 7:00 PM. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00AM, Saturday July 7, 2012, at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Port Charlotte. Entombment will follow at Restlawn Memorial Gardens, Port Charlotte.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Charles Borromeo Education Fund, Tidewell Hospice or the American Cancer Society. Friends may visit online at www.robersonfh.com to sign the memory book and extend condolences to the family.

Arrangements by Roberson Funeral Home Port Charlotte Chapel.