Thomas Federowicz

For 83 years this world was blessed with the presence of Dr. Thomas Eugene Federowicz. The only child of a Plymouth, PA coal miner and his wife, he became a beloved father, husband, physician and friend. In 1948, after graduating from Plymouth High School where he was a three-season athlete, he earned a football scholarship to Columbia University where he played tackle on both the defense and offense of the football team. After graduation, he was accepted into the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons where he earned his MD in 1956. During this time, he also met his wife Jeanne Reynolds, a nurse at Babies Hospital, NYC, and they married in June 1956. After completing his residency in General Surgery followed by a hand fellowship at Roosevelt Hospital, Captain Federowicz served as Hospital Chief of Surgery at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. He moved his family to Vestal, NY, in December of 1962 to begin his private practice in surgery. There Tom and Jeanne lovingly raised their nine children and generously provided each of them with the invaluable gift of a college education. Tom epitomized a physician in full: compassionate and courageously determined to embody the code of Hippocrates, at one point heroically riding in a puddle-jumper plane to Lexington, Kentucky, in order to attempt to reattach the hand of a five-year-old injured in a farm machine accident. He also enjoyed teaching as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery for Syracuse Medical School. From a young age he believed in community service. When he was 15, he volunteered for the Pennsylvania State Guard. Early in his career, he helped Emergency Room physicians develop a protocol for the treatment of trauma patients. Later, he heeded Dr. Ed Kozlowski’s call to become one of the founders of and fundraisers for the Kopernik Observatory. After he retired, Tom helped establish the local Free Clinic here in Binghamton where he volunteered for a number of years. He also spurred the New York State Education Department to tighten a law that made it mandatory that all public school windows in New York State be made of safety glass - passed into law by the state legislature in 1975. Tom was predeceased by his son, Dr. Gregory Joseph Federowicz; his mother, Blanche Kryniski Federowicz; his father, Thomas John Federowicz; and his stepmother, Matilda Stuscavage Federowicz. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Jeanne Therese Reynolds Federowicz; his children: Tom and Jane Federowicz and their children Kevin and Sean; Dr. Daniel and Caroline Federowicz and their children Christina, Elizabeth, Charlotte and Alexandra; Dr. Stephen and Dr. Mary DeGuardi-Federowicz and their children Catherine, Therese, Stephen and Maria; John Ed Bon Federowicz; Mary Federowicz and her children Allie, Jeffery and Joseph; Barbara Jean and Michael Houck and their children Cassidy, Stefan, Henry and Arden; Greg’s wife, Dr. Maria Kirchever-Federowicz, and their children Michael and Thomas; Janine Federowicz and her children Gabrielle and Annalisa; and Ann Marie Federowicz. Tom died peacefully at dusk November 27th with his loving family around him.
The family will receive visitors at the Allen Memorial Home, 511-513 East Main Street, Endicott, NY, on Friday from 4:00-7:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Vincent de Paul Blessed Sacrament Church on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Lourdes Hospice, the Kopernik Society of Broome County, the Community Free Clinic of Binghamton, or Birthright of Binghamton, Inc.