Dr. Dorval Carter dies at age 72; led local Ob/Gyn departments

By Stacie Johnson

After helping deliver what one colleague said was close to 10,000 babies, the classical piano and saxophone player-turned-physician Dorval Carter, MD, 72, died Feb. 24 from pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Carter was dedicated to obstetrics and gynecology, serving as chairman of the Department of Ob/Gyn at St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Hospital from 1975 until the hospital closed in 1995 and at St. Anthony’s Hospital thereafter until his passing.

Kathleen Aguilar, a nurse at St. Anthony’s who had known Dr. Carter for 35 years, said he was passionate about assisting underserved populations. He brought the residency program he started at St. Cabrini Hospital to St. Anthony’s, upgraded St. Anthony’s labor room, and created the hospital’s celebrated maternity center.

“His compassion for his patients always came first,” Aguilar said. “He was a strong person, and he fought for what was right.  He was well loved. There wasn’t a person who didn’t love him.”

Rosemary Megank, director of the nurse midwifery service for St. Anthony’s Hospital, said, “He was remarkable,” noting Dr. Carter took care of patients regardless of whether they could pay. He also cared for “patients not even his, not even his problem. That’s the kind of person he was.”

Megank also recalled how supportive Dr. Carter was of St. Anthony’s obstetrics unit and the midwives who worked there.  

He was “the best doctor I’ve ever worked with,” Megank said. “He was phenomenal. Dr. Carter had a heart of gold. I describe him as a big teddy bear.”

Born in 1935 and reared in Donora, PA, he pursued his musical passions at Howard University in Washington, DC, until he discovered a new passion, chemistry.  After graduation, he served in the Army Medical Service Corps. Upon completing his military service, he returned to Howard University, where he received a medical degree in 1962.

Dr. Carter did his residency in Chicago at Cook County Hospital. He later ran private practices in obstetrics and gynecology on the South and West Sides and worked at several local hospitals.

In 1990, Dr. Carter was appointed a commissioner and officer of the Illinois Medical District by Mayor Richard M. Daley and honored by the City Council for his lifetime achievements in Chicago health services.

In January, in Dr. Carter’s honor, the maternity center he helped create at St. Anthony’s was renamed the Dr. Dorval and Vivian Carter Family Birthing Center, and Dr. Carter received the hospital's first Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Carter is survived by his wife of 50 years, Vivian; son Dorval Jr.; daughter Melanie Carvalho; four grandchildren; and many relatives and friends. A service will be held Saturday, April 21, at 10 a.m. at the University of Chicago

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. 

Contributions may be sent to the St. Anthony Hospital Foundation, 2875 W. 19th St., Chicago, IL 60623.

 

Lena A. Costa, long-time Fillmore St. resident, dies at age78

Lena A. Costa (nee Lonero), a resident of the 1300 block of west Fillmore St. on the Near West Side for more than 40 years, died on Feb. 15. She was 78 years old.

Mrs. Costa was the husband of the late Anthony Costa; mother of Mark (Karen), Anthony, Theresa (Tom) Stucko, and Laura (Chris) Coletti; and grandmother of triplets, Amanda, Gianna, and Nina Costa.

In the late 1880s, Mrs. Costa’s maternal grandparents, Battista and Laura Russo, emigrated to Chicago’s Near West Side and settled on west Fillmore Street where they raised nine children.

Mrs. Costa was the daughter of Nicholas and Rose (nee Russo) Lonero, who lived their entire lives on west Fillmore Street and passed away in 1975 and 1976, respectively.

In the early 1970s, Mrs. Costa moved to Chicago’s Southwest Side but kept her roots on the Near West Side. “Lena and her children would come to Taylor Street weekly to visit friends and buy the homemade Italian sausage and wonderful cheeses at J. Falbo Cheese Store,” said long-time neighbor and friend Edith Bonsonto.

“Lena’s children were so devoted to her when she was sick and they never left her side when she was admitted frequently to the hospital,” added Mrs. Bonsonto. A funeral Mass was said for Mrs. Costa at St. Symphorosa Church on Feb. 19.