Antonio’s Obituary Antonio Jose Amortegui, M.D., of Colombia, South America, was born on November 8th, 1930, in Anolaima, Colombia, South America. He was one of six children to the late Maria Elisa Romero Amortegui and the late Jose David Amortegui. Antonio passed away at age 88 on December 20th, 2018 with his immediate family at his side.
Antonio was the beloved husband of 57 years of Luz Cristina Mendez Amortegui; adored father of Maria Carolina Sturniolo (Vincent), Luz Angela Campbell (Gary), and Claudia Ines Amortegui (Maximo); and cherished “Lito” or “Tuta” to his grandchildren, Cristina Maria, Maximillian Michael, Vincent Jose, Olivia Cristina, and Maximo Antonio. Antonio graduated from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in 1958 in Bogota, Colombia with his medical degree; he then continued to Maracaibo, Venezuela to begin his journey in medicine. He, his wife and oldest daughter arrived in the United States in 1963 to begin a distinguished medical career.
He completed post-graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, and residencies in New Jersey and Ohio. In 1968, the family arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Antonio began an illustrious career of over 40 years with the University of Pittsburgh. Antonio was a Professor of Pathology at Magee Women’s Hospital.
He specialized in Infectious Diseases and was a pioneer in the research of Chlamydia and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). In addition to his responsibility of supervising the Microbiology lab at Magee Womens Hospital, Antonio established a Virology lab. He was published and cited hundreds of times throughout his career and even after retirement.
He spoke at numerous conferences both in the United States and abroad. As an academic physician, he was responsible for educating medical students, residents, and fellows. Through his work, he left a legacy to those physicians following in his footsteps.
His students, peers, colleagues, friends and family have described Antonio as a gentleman, hardworking, conscientious, and kind man. He welcomed anyone into his world; he never considered anyone a stranger. He not only taught others about medicine but was a lifelong student himself.
After his retirement in 2007, Antonio continued to volunteer at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center as the Director of the Clinical Laboratory and as a consulting member of the medical staff; he began his work here in 1999. Although his lifelong passion was his work, he adored his family and enjoyed traveling the world, photography, gardening, music, his dog Chiquita and spending time with good friends. He was also a proud member of the Pittsburgh Hispanic community.
Friends and family are welcome to attend the memorial service on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019, at 3:00 pm at Heinz Chapel in Pittsburgh, PA. A reception will follow at the Twentieth Century Club. In lieu of flowers, his family would appreciate donations made in Antonio’s name to The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center, 5324 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224.
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