Donald Thomas Lazarz, M.D., a longtime orthopedic surgeon in Houston, Texas, passed away on February 26, 2023, at the age of 90.
He practiced orthopedic surgery in the greater Houston area for more than 50 years, specializing in spinal surgery and was affiliated with Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center.
Lazarz earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and then did an internship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston between 1958 and 1959.
Afterwards, he completed a general surgical residency at Texas A&M College of Medicine-Scott and White Medical Center between 1959 and 1960 and then stayed at the medical center to do his orthopedic surgery residency between 1960 and 1963. He was board certified through the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Lazarz was born on November 24, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois. He earned his undergraduate degree from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and served in the U.S. Army as a medic after earning his medical degree in orthopedic surgery.
Outside the hospital, he loved spending time with his family, traveling, racing his sailboat, and golfing. He even found pleasure in gardening.
Lazarz was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Houston, Texas, and taught catechism to eighth graders there for many years.
His family said he “was an overachiever and perfectionist and it showed in everything he did.”
Lazarz was preceded in death by his parents Harry and Virginia Lazarz. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Barbara Lazarz; his children Donnie Lazarz, Mark Lazarz and Ginger Knight; his grandchildren Nicole and Ashley Lazarz and Thomas and Sam Sheives; and his great grandchild Graham Wood.
A gentle, kind, and wonderful doctor!