By Brenda Dickinson
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John F. Kaczmarek |
Having just returned home from a trip to San Francisco for three operas and dining, John F. Kaczmarek, M.D., was caught off guard by my phone calls. He is a 1968 Anesthesiology Resident Program graduate who lives and works in Amarillo, Texas.
He was Chief of Anesthesia (1976-84) and Chief of Staff (1981-83) at Northwest Texas Hospital, and is now on the staff in an associated group with eight anesthesiologists at St. Anthony's Hospital, a 200-bed Catholic hospital owned by the Incarnate Word Health Organization. Operating rooms at St. Anthony's handle about 500 cases each month.
Dr. K., as he is known, has been married for over 30 years to Doris, who traded in her U-M Master of Science degree in chemistry to oversee and encourage their four children. The Kaczmareks are originally from Bay City and earned their undergraduate and graduate degrees from the U-M. They enjoy music, arts, and theatre. Dr. Kaczmarek is a bridge Life Master, placing him among the few who have acquired 300 points needed for that distinction. He has well over 2,000 points, which are awarded in increments of tenths at bridge games accredited by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). He plays at club events, and on sectional, regional and national levels.
However, "Our main entertainment is traveling. We have covered the Panama Canal, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Bermuda, Italy, England, Netherlands, France and Switzerland, and much of the Caribbean. Shorter getaway favorites include San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Dallas.
"Ours is a cruising family also, and last Christmas found us all on an eastern Caribbean 10-day sail, the first total family vacation in a few years. In the recent past the kids have skied in nearby Colorado or New Mexico Rockies, while we have preferred the warmer climes."
Dr. K usually attends the Fallasa meeting, and in October '91, the Kaczmareks attended the ASA in San Francisco, and continued on to Hawaii for their fourth visit to the volcanoes. Visits to their children also keep them actively traveling the globe. Last year they visited Kristine, who has a Real Estate/Banking degree from Texas A & M and was living in Kenai, Alaska. She's expecting her second child and she and her husband Marc Hood (an Aggie Civil Engineer), have returned to Houston. The Kaczmareks went on last year to spend a week each in London and Rome visiting daughter Andrea, who spent a semester studying at the Rome campus of the University of Dallas, where she is currently a senior economics major.
Their two other children both have degrees from Clemson; Douglas is a civil engineer at Pantex, the only U.S. assembly and dismantling site for nuclear weapons. His title is Explosives Safety Engineer for the Amarillo based facility. Michael is a recently married paramedic who lives in Columbia, South Carolina and expects to attend medical school there.
"Who knows about the future? With Bill and Hillary calling the shots, a rocking chair in the back yard by the pool may be the extent of our travels. At least we will always have the wonderful memories! Then again, maybe the Clintons really aren't viable entities. There may be hope now that Eldees is leading the way back to Arkansas. (Can you guess our party affiliation?)
"Will try some year to make it back to the Robert B. Sweet fall meeting. Then again, maybe I'd rather remember Old Main the way it was."
