IN MEMORIAM

THOMAS GAITANO ALTAVILLA, MD

1927 – 2021 What does a golfer do on his day off? Putter around. Just one of the many bad jokes we will truly miss from Dr. Thomas G. Altavilla who passed on August 3, 2021, at the age of 94. A loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, Thomas will be truly missed and will always be remembered for his wit and kindness. Thomas and his twin brother Peter were born on May 20, 1927, in Passaic, New Jersey. He grew up with his four brothers and one sister in New Jersey. One of his fondest childhood memories was winning the state baseball championship with his twin brother Peter. During WWII, he served in the US Navy and after the war he joined the US Air Force. He then used the GI Bill for schooling to become a Doctor of Medicine.

During this time, he met the love of his life, Esther Tinklepaugh. They were married on June 14, 1958, and moved to Rochester, NY where he did his residency at Highland Hospital. They soon started a family and had three boys.

He moved the family to Goleta, CA in 1969 and started his practice in medicine as a General Practitioner. Thomas was an old school doctor who carried a little black bag and made house calls. As a family doctor, he cared for many generations of local families at his practice and at the Goleta Valley Hospital.

It is impossible to convey the many stories of all the people he helped, healed, and saved as a Doctor. One of the last times he saved a person’s life was 20 years after he retired. While out playing golf, a man in the foursome in front of him collapsed with a heart attack. Thomas quickly ran over and started performing CPR while directing another man to call 911. He continued CPR until the paramedics arrived and in doing so saved the man’s life. He wondered why older gentlemen always wanted him in their foursome. After that day, he realized why.

Thomas had the life that most people dream of living. He had a long, happy, and healthy life and loved healing people as a doctor. He was married to the beautiful Esther, the woman he adored, for 63 years and was an amazing father to his three sons. Esther was by his side holding his hand and telling him how much she loved him on the day he passed. He is now in heaven rejoicing with his parents (Atillia and Samuel), his brothers Pete and George, and niece Annie. He is survived by his wife Esther, sons: Alex, Thomas and Brad, grandchildren: Amber, Rachel, and Jacob, Siblings: Alex, Robert and Mildred, and daughter-in-law: Valerie.

Adapted from the Santa Barbara News Press

In Memoriam

WALTER BURKE ANDERSON, MD

1933 – 2021 Walter Burke Anderson, MD passed away peacefully on June 17, 2021, in Lompoc.

He was born in 1933 in Santa Barbara, CA to the gifted pianist and composer Grace Burke Anderson and Lompoc town doctor Walter Marius Anderson, MD. With his twin brother John Richard Anderson, he graduated from Lompoc High School in 1951.

Burke completed his medical studies at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Southern California. Between his junior and senior years, he was won over by Registered Nurse, Beverly Joan Ekroth, and the two were married in Pasadena in 1960. His internship was taken at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California General Hospital.

Picking up his fathers practice at the office that had been vacated since the elder Andersons death in 1957, he began general practice in Lompoc in 1962 tending to the medical needs of a town booming with Vandenberg Air Force Bases space program. However, he is best remembered for his leadership at Lompoc Hospitals Emergency Services, which he directed from 1976 to 1989.

Burke and Joan raised three children in Lompoc, William Burke, who practices patent law in Carlsbad, CA; Steven Craig, who runs his own engineering company in Lompoc; and Jennifer, who writes and publishes in San Francisco under the pen name Jen Burke Anderson.

In 1981, he tragically lost his twin brother, John Richard Anderson, who had made his career as a newspaper journalist, working both for the Lompoc Record and Santa Barbara Newspress. The two had been inseparable companions and confidants, and it was the greatest loss in Burkes life.

He was a member of the Vaqueros de los Ranchos, again following his dad’s footsteps. The elder Anderson had been a Charter Member of the group in 1938. His other enthusiasms ranged from the stock market, World War II History, train travel and singing. He loved the Lord.

Before leaving practice in 1998, he turned to traditional family practice with the Valley Medical Group. One of his fondest memories was the VMGs retirement gift to him: a flight over the Central Coast in a B17G bomber, The Flying Fortress as it was fondly known.

Burkes last years were spent at home with the family he loved so dearly: Joan and his son Steve, with visit and support from his son Bill, daughter-in-law Kay, and their children, Samantha, Scott, and Seth, Burkes youngest, Jen; and affectionate nieces and nephews from Burbank to Berlin. They will miss his humor, brilliance, and wisdom, and are grateful to have had him in their lives.

Adapted from the Lompoc Record

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