MCEVOY, DR. ROBERT J. (July 13, 1921 - September 24, 2016), was a well-known pediatrician for 50 years on Cleveland’s West Side, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of malignant disease in children.
Robert McEvoy was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1921 to Edward and Loretta C. (Eagan) McEvoy. Graduating from Niagara University in three years, McEvoy was a distinguished student, swimmer, and drummer. He received his M.D. from Saint Louis University in 1946. During World War II, McEvoy also served as an officer in the Air Force and was stationed in Japan.
Dr. McEvoy ran a private pediatric practice on Cleveland’s west side for nearly 50 years. He was also on staff at LAKEWOOD HOSPITAL, FAIRVIEW HOSPITAL, and Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital of UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS CASE MEDICAL CENTER, also serving as Chief of Pediatrics at ST. JOHN WEST SHORE HOSPITAL. He was known across Cleveland’s West Side for making house calls in his VW Beetle, for his generous and compassionate care, and for his red hair, bow tie, and Irish wit.
Joining the advisory board for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Cleveland in 1957, he helped raise funds to endow a research fellowship at Western Reserve University (now CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY). Dr. McEvoy also served as treasurer of the Health Collective Association of Lakewood. He participated in an initiative of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland to help health care professionals engage with the spiritual dimension of their work.
Dr. McEvoy was recognized as Clinician of the Year by the ACADEMY OF MEDICINE OF CLEVELAND and was inducted into Cleveland’s Society of Saint Luke for demonstrating exemplary care. He was a founding member of the Irish American Pediatric Society and a 1999 recipient of the WALKS OF LIFE AWARD from the Irish American Archives Society.
Dr. Robert McEvoy met his wife Anita J. (Mullen) McEvoy at Saint Louis University. They were married for 69 years at the time of his death and had four children together: Robert, Anne, Ellen, and Laura. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in BROOK PARK, OH.
Daniel Brennan and David Patrick Ryan