Obituary of Dr. Francis J. Gilroy

Dr. Francis J. Gilroy died Friday April 26, 2024. Born November 23, 1931, in Binghamton, graduated St. Bonaventure University, B.S. Biology, 1953, Georgetown University School of Medicine, 1958, and the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 1960. He married Joyce Daniels, and they have three children, Michael F., Thomas E., and Mrs. Linda G. Foster, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Their family home was at 35 Clifton Blvd, Binghamton. Dr. Gilroy served his internship at D.C. General Hospital, Washington, D.C., and his residency in ophthalmology at Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He entered the U.S. Army Medical Corp as a Captain and while on active duty served as the Chief of Ophthalmology at Kimbrough Army Hospital, Fort Meade, MD. He was a Diplomat of the American Board of Ophthalmology and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He returned to Binghamton in 1964 and practiced ophthalmology for 43 years, before retiring in 2007. Frank has been President of the Broome County Medical Society, The New York State Ophthalmological Society, the Ophthalmology Delegate to the Medical Society State of New York, and a Councilor of the House of Delegates of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He was president of the medical staff of Binghamton General Hospital and the first president of the medical staff of United Health Services System, when it was formed in 1981. He served on the Advisory Boards of the New York State Department of Health's Driver Licensing Consulting Panel, the Medical Use of Marijuana Committees, and the Education Department's Professional Medical Conduct Board. He was a member of the original curriculum committee that developed the Upstate Medical University's Clinical Campus at Binghamton in 1978 and directed its Department of Ophthalmology for 30 years. In 2008, Frank received the Distinguished Teaching Award from Upstate Medical University and retired as Emeritus Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology. He served as Chairman of the Boards of United Health Services Inc., its parent board United Health System Inc., and the Binghamton General Hospital Foundation. He also chaired the boards of Hospital Trustees of New York State, the Broome County Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Tier Advisory Board of Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, was a member of the boards of Endicott Trust Bank and the advisory board of M & T Bank-Southern Region, the Blind Work Association (now AVRE), and the Broome County Community Charities. Frank served on the President's Advisory Council of St. Bonaventure University and was President of its Triple Cities Alumni Chapter. In 1972, he received the University's National Alumnus of the Year Award. He was the first recipient of the New York State Ophthalmological Society's "Hobie Award", was honored as a Distinguished Citizen by the Susquenango Council Boy Scouts of America, 1998, and received the 1999 Civic Leadership Award from the Broome County Chamber of Commerce. In 2011 UHS renamed the Doctor's Auditorium at Binghamton General Hospital in honor of his service and support. He is the author of a book "Reflections on Medicine in Broome County," written on occasion of the Bicentennial of the Broome County Medical Society in 2006. Frank began painting and drawing as he entered semi-retirement in 2000. He has studied under several Master Artists at the Lighthouse Center for the Arts, Tequesta, FL, where he became an accomplished artist in his own right. He worked primarily in acrylics on canvas, doing landscapes, seascapes and still life. His paintings hang in the Broome County Library, The DiMenna Gallery in Binghamton, and other private collections. Frank's memberships have included the Binghamton Club, 21 Club, Binghamton Country Club, Turtle Creek Country Club in Tequesta, The Harpur Forum, Live Wire, Austin Putting Academy, NY Seniors Golf Association, the Muskie Group, the Lighthouse Art Center, the Fine Arts Society of the Southern Tier and the Kannibal Klub. He was a member of the Villages Wii Bowling League, Choir, Rosary Group, and a guest lecturer on Binghamton History. He was a member of St Jude's Catholic Church Tequesta and St. Patrick's Catholic Church and choir, Binghamton. He enjoyed golf, painting, photography, travel, history, a good joke, and his family. He was an avid fan of Big East Basketball, especially Georgetown and the rivalries with his children's alma maters, Notre Dame and Villanova. The Gilroy's lived in Jonathan's Landing, Jupiter, FL and spent their summers at 223 Pennsylvania Ave, Binghamton. Frank and Joyce moved to the Villages of Good Shepherd in 2019. A Funeral Mass will be offered at St. Patrick's Church, corner of Oak and Leroy Streets, Binghamton, Friday at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Johnson City. The family will receive friends at the J.A. McCormack Sons Funeral Home, 141 Main Street, Binghamton, Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. The family requests that flowers please be omitted and that expressions of sympathy in memory of Dr. Gilroy be made to The Bonaventure Fund via St. Bonaventure University Office of Advancement in memory of Dr. Gilroy, 3261 West State Street, P.O. Box 2500, St. Bonaventure, NY 14778 or The Francis J Gilroy, MD Fund in care of The UHS Foundation, 10-42 Mitchell Ave, Binghamton, NY 13903. The Mass will be livestreamed at www.sta-sp.org