Jan 24th, 2022 marked the passing of Earl Vanus Fogelberg. He died quietly at his Santa Rosa home with Norma, his wife of 22 years, at his side, having spent time with his loving family in the days before.
Earl was a native Chicagoan, which is where he met his first love Ann Bowey. He graduated with high honors from Princeton and moved to New York City to start medical school at Columbia University P&S. Earl was passionate about medicine. In his third year at Columbia, Ann and Earl were wed in New York City.
After declaring his intent to pursue Orthopedic Surgery, he began his journey in the military as a Captain in the Air Force, doing a preliminary rotation at Stead Air Force base. It was here, their family expanded and their first child, Renee was born. They later returned to Washington Heights, NY to complete his Orthopedic residency and spinal fellowship. A son, Erik, was born during that time.
Their time back East didn’t last long as Ann convinced Earl to move to California to begin his career as a surgeon. Despite tireless calls and late-night surgeries, he was a dedicated father and husband. He was often seen with a Labrador at his side ready for weekend hunting adventures, or walks in the Presidio with his kids. He joined the Ski Patrol at Alpine Meadows as a MD consultant. There were many fun-filled weekends charging down the mountain with his kids at his heels.
Despite his many privileges Earl never forgot his roots and the tough days growing up in Chicago. He was passionate about his Guardsmen service, escalating to a position among the 31st Board class in 1974. While working tirelessly in private practice and as a faculty member at UCSF, he always managed to schedule time to be on the river. His love of fly fishing was so ingrained, he found peace and solace on the river. His other love was the Bohemian Club where he joined as a makeup artist leveraging his artistic talents to shape the many faces and characters on stage. He relished in his backstage involvement and having a critical hand in shaping the persona of actors through a transformation with makeup.
Tragically in 1999, he lost his wife Ann. It was soon after this, he was blessed to fall in love again with his second wife Norma Spreeman. Together they built a family with the addition of Norma’s daughter Taylor and continued to explore the world, fly fish, paint together and enjoy life to its fullest.
Earl was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Sept of 2020. What became most important to him at this time was providing funding for cancer trials and treatment. Before his passing Earl funded the endowment that bears his name. He is survived by his wife Norma (Spreeman) Fogelberg, his children Renee Flaherty and Erik Fogelberg, stepdaughter Taylor Bruner, Michael Flaherty his son in law, and his grandchildren Sam, Connor, Caitlin, Alison and Jack.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Earl Fogelberg MD Endowment Fund for Cancer Trials and Treatment at Sutter Hospital Santa Rosa are appreciated.
http://sutterhealth.org/earlfogelbergmd
Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27, 2022.
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