SARATOGA SPRINGS — Brian J. Izzo, M.D., passed away peacefully at age 71, surrounded by his loving family on June 3, 2018.
Born on December 5, 1946 in Saratoga Springs, he was the son of the late Edwin J. and Evelyn Derlick Izzo.
As a lifelong resident, Brian graduated from Saratoga Springs High School with honors in 1964. He then attended Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., graduating with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Pre-Medicine.
Upon graduation, Brian was drafted into the United States Army and was assigned duty in the 4077th Surgical Hospital Unit of the Mobile Army in South Korea.
After serving his tour of duty, he came back to Saratoga Springs to work as a laboratory technician and phlebotomist at Saratoga Hospital. In 1971 he met his wife, Pat, and as young hippies, they lived together until their wedding on the U.S. Bicentennial, July 4, 1976.
Brian attended Albany Medical College, receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1977. His residency in Family Medicine was completed at Middlesex Memorial Hospital in Middletown, CT.
Returning to Saratoga Springs, he partnered with Dr. Warren Litts, eventually joined by Dr. John Cetner and Dr. Ken Schwartz at 35 Myrtle Street. Brian continued his connection to Albany Medical College as an Associate Clinical Professor. He precepted Albany Medical College students in his Myrtle Street practice for many years.
He possessed a true joy of living, and a love of healing his fellow human being. No matter who took a chair in his examination room, his bedside manner disarmed the worry of the patient’s visit. As one patient, who is a dear friend, said, “Brian, to me, was always a lighthouse when the sea of life got overwhelming.”
Sometimes the simplest of things speak volumes about a man’s character. As Rudyard Kipling described in his poem, “If,” “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too...Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it…”
To balance his demanding professional career, Brian enjoyed spending time with his wife and children, and after retirement, with his new grandsons, who captivated his heart. Handicapping the thoroughbred horses, playing golf with his close friends at McGregor Country Club, watching the N.Y. Yankees and N.Y. Giants games and fishing were favorite pastimes. Brian also had a wide circle of friends, whom he held near and dear to his heart. He was also a longtime member of the Saratoga Wilton Elks Lodge #161, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Gurtler Brothers Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #420. Additionally, he was an honorary member of the S.S.P.B.A. and an honorary member of the S.S.F.D.
Since the 1980s, Brian’s favorite family vacation spot was Rockport, MA, located on Cape Ann Harbor, north of Boston. The beauty and tranquility of this small Atlantic fishing town drew him back year after year, giving him the time he needed to recharge from the demands of Family Medicine.
In later years, Brian and Pat became rock hounds, joining the Capital District Mineral Club in Albany, N.Y. They entered quarries and hiked to collecting sites, donning their hard hats, safety goggles, and rock hammers.
Brian leaves behind his loving wife, Patricia, with whom he shared 47 years; their children, Joshua Izzo, Jessica Izzo (Adam Malik) Wakefield, Sarah Izzo, and Timothy (Risa Arakawa) Izzo; and their grandsons, Benjamin J. Wakefield and Brian Kaito Izzo; his siblings, Leonard (Lenora) Izzo, Nancy (John) Fleming, and Janet (Richard) Sherin; his nieces and nephews, Robert (Christine) Izzo, Patrick (Suzann) Fleming, Carrie (Don) Pecor, and Kyle Sherin (fiancé Kara); and eight grandnieces and grandnephews, Jason, Nicholas, and Rose Izzo; Sullivan and Lillian Fleming; Nia, Ava, and Grant Pecor.
Relatives and friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday June 6, 2018 at the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing and Cunniff Funeral Homes, 628 North Broadway (518-584-5373).
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 7, 2018 in St. Clement’s Church, 231 Lake Avenue. Burial with military honors will follow at 1 p.m. at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, 200 Duell Road, Schuylerville.
Dr. Izzo and his family express deep gratitude to Dr. Desmond DelGiacco, Pulmonologist; Dr. Scott Beegle of Albany Medical Center Pulmonary Care Center; Dr. Daniel Eldredge; and Dr. Warren Litts. We are also grateful for his nurses at Saratoga Hospital’s ICCU, Community Hospice, and many others who cared so well for Brian during his very sudden decline caused by his Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Brian expressed appreciation to Kathy Peterson for her spiritual guidance.
Donations can be made to Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, Suite 500, 230 East Ohio Street, Chicago, IL 60611, 1-888-733-6741, http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/ways-to-give/donate-now; or Saratoga Hospital Foundation, 211 Church Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, 518-583-8340, https://www.saratogahospitalfoundation.org/make-a-gift/memorial-gifts
Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com.
