FRANCISCO M. GARCIA-FERRER, MD
Dr. Francisco M. Garcia-Ferrer of Overland Park, Kansas, peacefully passed on November 8, 2022, in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
Francisco was born on April 14, 1932, to Eduardo Sixto Garcia-Ferrer and Francisca de la Caridad Mendez y Santa Cruz Pacheco in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. He attended the Colegio La Salle in Santiago, and subsequently attended the University of Havana where he completed his medical degree.
Although they were childhood acquaintances, Francisco’s first date with his future wife, Cira Angelina Lazo Arroyo was in 1952, at a New Year’s Eve dance at the Club Náutico in Santiago de Cuba. Seven years later, on Valentine’s Day, 1959, they were wed in their home town. Immediately thereafter, the couple moved to Havana whilst Francisco finished medical school at the University. In the midst of the Cuban revolution, Francisco completed his medical training and returned to Santiago where he practiced as a general surgeon until he and his family were granted permission to leave the country.
Francisco and Cira immigrated to the United States in 1967, with their first four children who were born in Cuba. They eventually settled in Overland Park, Kansas, and welcomed their fifth child.
Once in the United States, Francisco completed his internship at Bethany Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. His medical career included tenures on the medical ward of the Osawatomie State Hospital and many years in the emergency room at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He ultimately established his private practice in Overland Park and Lenexa, Kansas, serving on the medical staff of Shawnee Mission Medical Center for over 40 years. He officially retired from medical practice in 2017 at the age of 85.
Francisco was predeceased by his wife, Cira in 2021, his mother in 1933, his father in 1983, his brother, Eduardo in 2001; his sister, Lourdes in 2015; his sister, Maria Caridad in 2014; and his youngest sister, Rosa in 2020. He is survived by his brother, Rolando of Chicago, Illinois; his five children: Cira (late Joseph Danda) of Mission Hills, Kansas; Carmen (Noe Rodriguez) of Seabrook, Texas; Josephine of Webster Groves, Missouri; Francisco (John Sergent) of Des Peres, Missouri; and Ramon (Angela) of Marietta, Georgia. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A Visitation will be held from 9:30-10:00 a.m. Saturday, December 17, 2022 at the Porter Funeral Home, Lenexa, Kansas with Memorial Services at 10:00 a.m. at the Porter Funeral Home. Committal services will follow at the Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa, Kansas.