Salvatore Pecoraro

Salvatore Pecoraro, M.D., 67, of Beckley, passed away Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at the Bowers Hospice House following a long illness. Born October 19, 1941, in Brooklyn, NY, he was the son of the late Dr. Salvatore and Frances Veneruso Pecoraro. He received his undergraduate degree from Seton Hall University. Upon graduation, he moved to Rome, Italy to study abroad where he received his medical degree in 1970 from the University of Rome. It was in Rome that he met and married his wife of 41 years. He and his young family moved back to the United States in 1970 where he received further medical training as an Intern, Resident and completed a Fellowship in Cardiology at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. In 1978, his love of the mountains brought him to West Virginia where he joined the Southern West Virginia Clinic. In 1984 he opened the Beckley Clinic for Heart Disease. He retired in 2003. Dr. Pecoraro's legacy in Beckley are the lives he touched in the 20 years he practiced medicine here. He loved many of his patients whom he always referred to as good, honest people and 'the salt of the Earth'. The legacy he leaves with his family is his strength, his commitment to family, and his example of hard work, humor and never shying away from difficult choices.

He is survived by his wife, Olga Pecoraro; sons, Alexis Pecoraro and wife, Kristin, of Charlotte, NC; Christopher Pecoraro and wife, Christen, of Knoxville, TN; daughter, Simone Blake and husband, Lesley, of Columbus, OH; sister, Sen. Anna Cowin and husband, Dr. John, of Leesburg, FL; grandchildren, Nathan, Joshua, Adam and Jacob Pecoraro of Charlotte, NC, Daniel Pecoraro of Knoxville, TN, and Giulia, Andrew and Landon Blake of Columbus, OH; nieces and nephews; Alexandra Grossi, David, Lynda, Scott Cowin and families.

A funeral liturgy will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 29, 2009 at St. Francis deSales Catholic Church, 626 South Oakwood Avenue, Beckley, with Father Josh officiating. A rite of committal will follow in Sunset Memorial Park. The family welcomes freinds to the church service and committal.

The family requests memorial contributions be made to Bowers Hospice House, 454 Cranberry Drive, Beckley, WV 25801.

The family wishes to give special thanks to Dr. Carl Larson, friend and caretaker Mona Price, and the wonderful people at Hospice of Southern West Virginia and Bowers Hospice House.

Online condolences may be left at www.calfeefh.com.

Arrangements by Calfee Funeral Home, Beckley.