Dr. Salvatore La Pilusa passed away last week, leaving behind a legacy of altruism and goodwill.
“Bayonne lost an icon and ambassador of goodwill to the world with the passing of Dr. La Pilusa,” said Mayor Mark Smith. “His tireless efforts to help his fellow man and make the world a better place are a shining example of the best that humanity has to offer. He will be sorely missed, but his example has inspired countless others to follow his example.”
Salvatore was born in Bayonne, N.J. to the late Salvatore and Rosalia La Pilusa, who immigrated to America from Italy in 1914. He attended Holy Family Academy and entered the university of Notre Dame in 1937.
He received a bachelor of science degree from Notre Dame University in 1941 and earned his medical degree at Loyola Medical School in Chicago. Salvatore completed an internship and orthopedic training at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, Jersey City Medical Center, and Iowa University in Iowa City, Ia.
He told people that his college years were the four happiest years of his life.
Councilman Gary La Pelusa said his family is related to the doctor despite the slight difference in spelling.
“He was my cousin,” Councilman La Pelusa said. “He used to love to eat at San Vito’s and was a member of the Assumption Church Parish. Dr. La Pilusa loved Notre Dame University.”
In deed, the doctor remained an active member of the alumni all his life. Over the years, he donated more than $2 million to the University of Notre Dame’s Lorraine M. La Pilusa Scholarship, which more than 90 students have received over the years. Even more students have benefited from the physiology wing he dedicated in the Jordan Hall of Science.
Among his many honors, La Pilusa received in 2008 Notre Dame’s highest honor, The Sorin Award.
“He kept going back and doing things for people at his own expense.” – Councilman La Pelusa
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La Pilusa served as an orthopedic surgeon in a MASH unit during the Korean War, and he returned to that part of the world again and again years later to help people there.
“He kept going back and doing things for people at his own expense,” Councilman La Pelusa said.
His volunteer work included trips to Indonesia, Buthan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, to which he brought at his own expense surgical and x-ray equipment, and helped monitor younger orthopedic doctors. Even after he partially retired, he traveled to third-world countries to work with young orthopedic doctors and learn about their cultures. He became very attached to Vietnam, where he was sometimes called “American Father.”
After MASH
Following his military service in the MASH unit, Salvatore started a practice in Bayonne, where he became a well respected bone surgeon.
In 1953, Sal became a member of the medical staffs at Bayonne Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Jersey City Medical Center.
Councilman La Pelusa said La Pilusa established the Lorraine M. La Pilusa Cancer Treatment Center in Bayonne. This donation allows for patients to be treated in Bayonne instead of having to travel to New York for treatment, as his wife did
He was board certified in orthopedic surgery. He belongs to several orthopedic societies, including the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, the Eastern Orthopedic Society, and the Irish American Orthopedic Society in Ireland.
“He was loved by many and he did a lot of good for a lot of people,” Councilman La Pelusa said.