Jose Luis Gallastegui

June 16, 1950 - June 4, 2020

On Thursday, June 4th, at the young age of 69 (9 steps away from his 70th Birthday), Dr. Jose Luis Gallastegui left this physical world. Loving husband to Jennie, dad extraordinaire to Alessandra and Mariana, brother to Chela (Cesar), Ceci (Roger) & Carlos and fantastic Uncle and Great Uncle. Dr. G, Tio Pepe, a renowned Electrophysiologist (pioneer in this field), dedicated his life to the care of his patients (and was always on speed dial for family and extended family consults). He was loved and appreciated by all around him for not only being an outstanding Doctor but most importantly for the compassion with which he cared for his patients. Born in Lima, Peru to Luis and Graciela, he completed his school years at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and continued to the prestigious “Universidad Cayetano Heredia” to complete this medical studies. After completing his studies, he spent one year in the jungle in the City of Moyobamba, Peru, serving the community as their doctor where he gained tremendous experience and where his career took form. As he finished his medical studies at the top of his class, he won a scholarship to complete his medical internship and further Internal Medicine Specialty at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida where is spent 6 years. From there he went to Chicago to pursue his career at the University of Illinois. He studied Cardiology for three years and Electrophysiology for three more years. When finalizing his studies, he was appointed as Professor in his Specialty at the University of Illinois where he remained for 5 years. At this point in time he decided to start what he loved the most, taking care of patients. He moved to Clearwater to become part of the Clearwater Cardiovascular Consultants where he developed the Electrophysiology program and served as it’s director at Morton Plant Hospital; he was the first Electrophysiologist in the entire West Coast of Florida. In 2016, he received the Distinguished Physician Leadership award at Morton Plant Hospital, a very fitting close to an outstanding medical career. Shortly there after he was forced to retire as he faced the battle with ALS head on. He was a warrior until his last breath. Anyone who knew Pepe will always remember him for having an infectious smile. He was a source of encouragement and support to everyone he met. His laughter brought comfort to his family, friends, and patients. Pepe loved soccer and even coached both his daughter’s soccer teams. He loved to cook Peruvian food (and everyone who ate his food loved his cooking!) Pepe loved music and you could always catch him singing around the house. He was an inspiration to his wife and both daughters and provided constant support and motivation for them to succeed. The family would like to extend their sincerest gratitude to Jennie, for her loving care and support throughout this life right up to his final days. He will be dearly missed by all those that were lucky enough to have met him – his legacy will live on through all of us! We will be sharing a time with family and friends on Friday, July 17 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm in St. Jerome Catholic Church, 10895 Hamlin Blvd, Largo, FL. Followed by a Vigil Service in the church at 6:00 pm. The family asks that during this time to please be cautious by following the present safety guidelines of wearing a facemask and respecting the social distancing rules. A Funeral Mass will be held the following day, July 18, 2020 at Noon in the Church. Again, please follow safe distancing practices. If you are ill or so inclined to choose not to attend you may watch the Vigil and/or the Funeral Mass live-streamed on the website of St. Jerome Catholic Church(https://www.stjeromeonline.org/). Condolences may be left on this website. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Jerome Catholic Church music ministry. Please write in the memo of the check Dr. G. Music Ministry.