Dr. Robert P. McGovern, 60, of Vero Beach, Fla.
Dr. Robert Peter McGovern, a respected physician, husband and father, died Thursday in the same hospital where he saved lives for more than two decades. He was 60 years old.
Dr. McGovern, who was known to friends and family as Bob, worked as a gastroenterologist at the Indian River Medical Center. He also co-founded the Live Oak Endoscopy Center in Vero Beach, Fla.
He was a communicant of Holy Cross Church of Vero Beach.
Dr. McGovern was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and always carried a piece of Third Street with him wherever he went. He graduated from St. Peter’s College in New Jersey and earned his medical doctorate from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
He married his high school sweetheart, travelled the world with her and raised three children. He held the door for his wife from their first date all the way through their more than three decades of marriage.
Dr. McGovern had an excellent sense of humor and was a master of well-timed one-liners. He was respected by his peers for his work ethic and poise in the face of pressure. However, he would not take his work home with him. Family time was important to him, and he would travel the country — under any circumstances — to be there for his children.
Dr. McGovern provided free health care to those in need through the We Care program for many years; it was something he took great pride in.
Dr. McGovern is survived by his wife of 37 years, Lori; his mother, Audrey of Brooklyn, N.Y.; two sons, Boston Herald reporter Robert Peter Jr. and his wife Emily of Boston, and Bradley of Atlanta, Ga.; a daughter, Cali of Arlington, Va.; three brothers, Ray of Little Ferry, N.J., Ward of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, and Jack and his wife Marie of Neptune, N.J.
He also leaves two nieces, Stephanie Cappiello of New York City and Alexandra Cappiello of Los Angeles; and a nephew, Paul of Little Ferry, NJ.
He was the son of the late Dr. John McGovern.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
A prayer service was held Monday at Strunk Funeral Home, Vero Beach, Fla.
A funeral Mass was celebrated yesterday at Holy Cross Church, Vero Beach, Fla.
Burial was in Crestlawn Cemetery, Vero Beach, Fla.