Dr. Frank John Palumbo, 94, of Lewiston, NY, former chief of Medicine and Director of the Coronary Care Unit at Mount Saint Mary's Hospital, passed away on August 17, 2016 after a long illness.

Dr. Palumbo established the first coronary care unit in Niagara County at Mount St. Mary's Hospital and served as director of the unit for many years before he retired in 1991. For 40 years, he was dedicated to his internal medicine practice on Main Street in Niagara Falls.

Dr. Palumbo was born in Niagara Falls on March 11, 1922, son of John Palumbo and Mary (Chiappone) Palumbo. He attended local schools and graduated with honors from Niagara Falls High School in 1940.

Dr. Palumbo received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1944, where he was elected to the SKULLS honorary pre-medical society. He graduated from Cornell University Medical School in New York City, and served his internship at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

During World War II, Dr. Palumbo was commissioned a captain in the U.S. Army. He was stationed at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. and at Rodriguez General Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
After the war, he served a residency at Buffalo General Hospital. During his residency, he was awarded a fellowship in cardiology which he served at hospitals in New York City.

Dr. Palumbo began his practice in internal medicine in Niagara Falls in 1951, and was certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1957. During the 1950s, he served as director of interns at the old Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Niagara Falls. He remained director until the program was dissolved in 1965. He was also an instructor at the Medical School of the State University of New York at Buffalo.

In 1956, he served as president of the staff at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. After chairing a two-year study committee, he established a program for rheumatic fever with the Niagara County Chapter of the American Heart Association. Dr. Palumbo served as chief of medicine at Mount Saint Mary's Hospital from 1965-1985. He was also an attending physician and consultant in medicine at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

He was a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a member of the American Medical Association. He co-authored several articles for the New England Journal of Medicine. Long before exercise was emphasized for good health, Dr. Palumbo highlighted the importance of physical fitness in his practice. A tennis enthusiast, he enjoyed the game for more than 45 years and played until he was 79. An active member of the Niagara Falls YMCA for 35 years, he enjoyed jogging and ran in several races. In his youth, he also played baseball and basketball.

Dr. Palumbo was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the Mayo Clinic in 1989, at a time when the prognosis was four to seven years. He lived with multiple myeloma for 27 years, and was a member of the International Myeloma Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. He was also a member of the Niagara Falls Country Club. He is predeceased by his wife, Diana (Pillman) Palumbo, his parents, John and Mary Palumbo and two sisters, Virgilia Leone Colosi and Joyce Mirrington. He is survived by six children, Mary Jo (Bob) Merwin, Anne (Bob) Edwards, John (Nicole) Palumbo, Susan (Kurt) Schulz, Christine (Dennis Dyke) Palumbo and Frank John Palumbo Jr., five grandchildren, Andrew and Christopher Dirks, Patrick and Daniel Schulz, Claire Palumbo, two nieces, Carol Leone and Nancy Hawley; a nephew, Tony Leone; and several great-nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Friday, August 26th from 5 – 8 P.M. at M.J. COLUCCI & SON NIAGARA FUNERAL CHAPEL, 2730 Military Road Niagara Falls, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday at 12 Noon at Niagara University Alumni Chapel, 5795 Lewiston Road Niagara University, NY. EVERYONE PLEASE ASSEMBLE AT CHURCH. Interment will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Donations may be made to International Myeloma Foundation, ICU at Mt. St. Mary's Hospital or Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio.