Smithtown pediatrician John O'Donnell dies
Photo credit: Handout | Dr. John O'Donnell, who was in practice in Smithtown from 1954 to 2005, and who helped launch pediatric departments at three Suffolk hospitals, died June 22, 2012, at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown. He was 88.
Newsday's obituary for Dr. John O'Donnell
LI notable deaths
Notable Long Islanders who died in 2011
By one count, John J. O'Donnell performed as many as a half-million examinations on 50,000 patients over more than 50 years as a pediatrician.
So it may not be too much of an exaggeration to say that, for decades in greater Smithtown, O'Donnell seemed to be every child's physician.
"Just an old-fashioned country doctor, and one of the best," said Michael Fitzpatrick, 55, the state assemblyman...
