Gilbert Santoscoy, M.D. (S ’69)

Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, the son of Salvador and Carmen Santoscoy, he attended Austin High School and matriculated at Texas Western College at age 16. He finished an M.D. degree at Southwestern Medical School at age 23. Subsequently, he completed an internship at (Emory) Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He was an Army physician at Killeen Base in Texas as a Captain from 1963 to 1965 with the Defense Atomic Support Agency. An arduous general surgery residency followed Army service at the Mayo Clinic. He moved to Wichita Kansas and lived there with his family for the next five decades. In addition to being held in high esteem in private surgical practice, he finished his career by spending more than a decade caring for veterans at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita. He had over 25 years of service as a surgical instructor for the University of Kansas- Wichita. He held numerous medical leadership positions while in Kansas and had harmonious relationships with his peers.

Gilbert was a wonderful father and a devoted husband. He truly took an abiding interest in the lives of people around him. The desire to help others and innate goodness were his hallmark characteristics. He wanted a better world. To that end, he helped thousands of people in a myriad of ways during his lifetime. His patients benefited greatly from his competence and compassion over the 50 plus years of his medical practice.