March 16, 1922 – July 17, 2023
PROMINENT CARDIOLOGIST LED LIFE WITH HIS HEART
“Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Dr. William D. Remole (101) passed away peacefully in his Bloomington home on July 17, 2023, surrounded in love by his children. He was preceded in death by parents Dorothy and Norman, and his beloved wife of 65 years, Patricia Cullen Remole. He is survived by his children Mary Remole, Michelle (Tim) Regan, Patricia (Ross) Tomita, Stephen (Katie) Remole and Margaret (Daniel) Lively; 7 grandchildren, and 4 great-grands.
As a father, Dad always had time for his children, promptly putting down the task at hand to listen, soothe, solve, and support the needs of his family.
As a husband, Bill took beautiful care of his wife Patty, who suffered from multiple sclerosis almost their entire marriage. His diligent and loving care enabled her to live in their home until she was called home by God at age 90.
As a physician, Dr. Remole cared deeply for his patients and their problems. His compassion and insight helped thousands over his five-decade career span, and that loving concern for others never let up until literally, his last breath.
He heartily embraced the future and always said he wanted to live until he died. Well past his 101st birthday, he was still updating his book on the computer, texting and reading email from friends and family on his iPhone, and charging his Apple Watch, predicting its short charge time was going to be a problem for Apple unless they fixed it!
A lifelong Minneapolitan, Dr. Remole graduated from West High School, then enrolled in the University of Minnesota, where he received his BA, BS, and MD degrees. While still in college, he, like so many others of the Greatest Generation, responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor by immediately enlisting in the military, hoping to help his country by becoming a “flyboy.” The US Military, however, had different plans for him. He was fast-tracked through medical school, and after completing the requisite internships and residency training at Milwaukee County Hospital and Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, he was finally in the US Army. Upon completion of the Basic Medical Officer’s course, he was assigned to the US Army’s Gorgas Hospital in Panama. While caring for military personnel at Gorgas was his primary responsibility, he also traveled into the jungle to give care to indigenous patients, who often suffered from tropical infectious diseases.
After his military service, he completed specialty training in internal medicine, going on to mentor many young doctors through his appointment at the University of Minnesota’s Family Practice and Community Medicine program. With further training, this time in cardiology, he became a leader in hospital practice, starting Minnesota’s first coronary care unit (CCU) dedicated to the care of cardiac patients, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Minneapolis. He worked closely with S. Mary Madonna Ashton, CSJ, then president and CEO of the hospital, and first female state health commissioner, to make this CCU a reality.
This innovative idea was to provide continuous heart rhythm monitoring during a heart attack, allowing a specialized team to respond immediately to potentially lethal heart rhythm problems. He hired a bright young engineer named Earl Bakken to help him with the complex electronics needed to provide continuous monitoring of heart rhythm and vital signs. Earl later went on to form Medtronic, and ironically, Dr. Remole lived with Medtronic pacemakers the last thirty years of his life.
Not content with advancing the acute care of heart attack victims, his vision, research, and leadership helped change forever the way cardiac patients recovered after their hospital stay in what became known as cardiac rehab centers. He was dismayed by a patient who died of a blood clot to the lung while getting dressed to leave the hospital after a heart attack. The embolism was brought on by what was then the standard of care – prolonged bed rest. His push to get patients up and active while supervised by skilled therapists soon after their heart attack was initially viewed with skepticism by many in the field. However, his clinical research collaborations and contributions to acute and rehab care of the heart attack patient helped create the bedrock of today’s heart healthcare. He maintained a very busy private practice in Cardiology until his retirement in 1987.
During his retirement years, he continued to lead with his heart and therefore those years were just as full and rewarding. Two of Dr. Remole’s favorite post-retirement collaborations were his years chairing the board of the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Association (MVNA), helping them regain their prominence in public health in the Twin Cities, and his very successful work pioneering the delivery of flu shots at local grocery stores with the help of Larry Anderson, then-CEO of SuperValu Foods. He always had the utmost respect for the skills and professionalism of the nurses with whom he worked, especially in these important outreach programs.
Dr. Remole witnessed many historical events in his 101 years. He enjoyed looking back on those years and wanted to document for his family how history had affected his life as an inspiration to them. That research and writing occupied much of his retirement and resulted in a colorful autobiography. He described the settling of his ancestors in America, growing up in the Great Depression, living through World War II, then the postwar boom and all the medical advancements. His children considered him a living history book of 20th century America, as his life-long interest in current events gave him the ability to put those times and events in context with each other. Once again, leading with his heart by writing this book, his family has an even deeper appreciation for their ancestors and how they overcame adversity in their immigration to our country.
Dr. Remole remained vibrant until the end. He will forever be an inspiration to those who knew him and whose lives he touched. Rest in love and peace, dearest father, physician, and friend to so many.
The family wish to express their profound gratitude to Josie Sprick for the past eleven years of her devoted care for Dr. and Mrs. Remole as well as to the beloved Poor Clare sisters, now residing in Rochester, MN for their efficacious prayers throughout a beautiful relationship spanning some 70 years.
Mass of Christian Burial Tuesday August 8, 2023 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Grace, 5071 Eden Avenue. Visitation one hour prior to Mass. Interment Resurrection Cemetery.
Dr. Remole’s most ardent wish was that a cure for multiple sclerosis be found in his lifetime. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial to the MS Society to help find that cure.
