Richard P. Whittaker, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Pottstown (Pa.) Memorial Medical Center and board president passed away after a short battle with lung cancer, according to The Mercury News.
Here are five things to know:
1. Dr. Whittaker was on PMMC's staff for 39 years. He retired in 2013.
2. Dr. Whittaker was chairman of the hospital's board of trustees, a position he had held since 2008.
3. As a volunteer, Dr. Whittaker traveled to Panama, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Haiti, Thailand, Uganda and India serving medical missions, providing medical aid following earthquakes and the 2004 tsunami as well as immunizing children against polio.
4. Dr. Whittaker earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania, also in Philadelphia.
5. Dr. Whittaker was 75 years old.