ER doctor killed in attack is mourned
58-year-old was riding bike when he was struck and stabbed; driver pleaded not guilty
Julie and Michael Mammone, a couple many said had a once-in-a-lifetime love affair, had their plans laid out.
“We were so happy with our lives in Laguna,” a tearful Julie Mammone said. “We’d launched our beautiful sons and were going to spend our 30th wedding anniversary in Italy. We had sailing lessons in April and scuba trips planned.
“It was all so tragically taken from us on Feb. 1,” she said before adding that her husband’s memory “will live on in all of us.”
“I love you with all my heart,” she said. “Rest in peace until we meet again.”
Julie Mammone, who began her tribute with Kahlil Gibran’s poem “The Beauty of Death,” was the last to speak during a nearly 2-hour celebration of life on Thursday for Michael Mammone, an emergency room physician who had spent his life in service to others, first as a lifeguard on beaches in Los Angeles County and then in emergency rooms across Southern California.
Mammone, 58, died Feb. 1 after being struck while riding his mountain bike along Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point and then being stabbed by the driver. Vanroy Evan Smith of Long Beach, who was detained by bystanders, has been charged with murder; he pleaded not guilty but a mental competency hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday.
Thursday’s public memorial at the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach stayed focused on Mammone’s life as family members and close friends shared stories and told of how Mammone had uniquely touched their lives. It was attended by several hundred people, including many from the medical field and first responders with whom Mammone worked for more than three decades.
Speakers also included doctors who went to medical school with Mammone at USC, colleagues from hospitals where he worked, including San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland and Providence Mission Hospitals in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach, and representatives from the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Department, where Mammone was medical director from 2002 to 2008.
The doctor was remembered as a loving husband and father who absolutely adored his wife and two sons. Friends and family spoke of his infectious, joyful energy and his silly jokes. He would often bring family together to enjoy his homemade pizzas, perfected guacamole recipes and signature cocktails, they said. He loved scuba diving and traveling the world, they said. Some of his favorite stories to tell were from volunteering in Papua New Guinea, bathing elephants in Thailand, diving in Belize and going on safaris in South Africa and historic sightseeing tours in Italy.
In attendance also were Laguna Beach city and county and state officials. The Laguna Beach Police Department presented the Mammone family with a memorial wreath.
“Although I didn’t know Dr. Mammone, I’m attending to show support for his family and friends, and let them know that Laguna is a small, close-knit community that supports its residents in times of tragedy and crisis,” said Mayor Bob Whalen, who attended with Councilmember Sue Kempf, Police Chief Jeff Calvert and Fire Chief Niko King. “I hope the outpouring today provided some comfort to the family.”
Mammone and his wife loved visiting Laguna Beach since the start of their relationship in 1992, family members said, and made it their home after Mammone accepted a job in 2010 at Providence Mission Hospital Laguna Beach.
But before Mammone became an emergency room doctor, he served as a lifeguard for Los Angeles County while he pursued a bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego.
“He was all smiles, the swimmer’s shoulders and the mischievous grin,” said Arthur Verge, describing Mammone coming to work at the Santa Monica Beach. “When he walked to the tower, we knew we’d be ready.”
“When you have 250,000 people on Santa Monica, things can get crazy,” Verge said. “Mike always thrived on it. Mike gave people their lives back. People went home, not only from the beach, but from the emergency rooms.”
In the emergency room, Mammone was known to have a “cool hand that couldn’t be rattled by anyone,” said Dr. Bill Dodge, a colleague at Providence Mission Hospital Laguna Beach.
Dodge spoke of Mammone’s tireless efforts and courage during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. And, he joked about Mammone’s courage outside the hospital, recounting stories of Mammone finding rattlesnakes in his backyard and taking them for release in a faraway field.
Dr. Jennifer Mason remembered meeting Mammone on her first day at
USC’s medical school. All the students were organized in alphabetical order, putting Mason next to Mammone. Mason said Mammone helped her learn how to start IVs by letting her use his arm to practice.
Later, when the professor told students they could move from the alphabetically arranged seating, she said “nobody in the Ms moved” because of the close bonds they had formed. She named Mammone among her “best friends.”
Mammone completed his residency at Loma Linda Medical Center with an emphasis on emergency medicine.
In 1996, he accepted a position at San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland, where he worked until 2018. Dr. Larry Potts was his medical partner there for 20 years, saying Mammone was a “mentor to nurses, scribes and caring physicians.”
“He was a nocturnist because he wanted to be with Julie and the boys,” Potts said, adding that every night Mammone would call his wife before she went to bed “all smoochie smoochie,” making some, including himself, roll their eyes and others jealous of the close relationship.
“Rest easy,” Potts said. “Your boys will watch over Julie and your friends will pick up your night shift.”