Community remembers trailblazer surgeon Dr. Edward Fesco, ‘he did it all,’ colleague says

Dr. Edward J. Fesco was a wizard with a scalpel with a razor wit to match. His patients loved him and his peers looked up to him. And he proved a natural at the microphone when “Ask Dr. Fesco” hit the local airwaves.

Fesco of La Salle died Tuesday in his home. He was 93.

Fesco was remembered for his 60-plus year career as a general surgeon who operated in the hospitals of Mendota, Princeton, Spring Valley and La Salle-Peru. Late in life his switched to general practice and retired only weeks before his 85th birthday.

Dawn Moutray was director of social services at Illinois Valley Community Hospital (now OSF Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center-Peru) where she worked closely with Fesco.

Fesco was a trailblazer, respected by everyone, who served as the area’s first hospice medical director

“He did it all,” Moutray said. “He was always there for his patients and they loved him. He was always available to all of us.

“I loved the man and I respected him and he will be missed so much.”

Fesco also was remembered for his long-running talk show on WLPO. Longtime radio personality John Spencer co-hosted a couple of “Ask Dr. Fesco” segments and was impressed not only with Fesco’s medical knowledge but also his rapport with listeners.

“He was a fabulous storyteller,” Spencer, now president and general manager of Starved Rock Media. “When he was on WLPO, people would call with all sorts of questions and he was always warm and friendly and personable. He genuinely enjoyed what he did, you could tell.”

The Long Island, New York native’s career might well have been shaped by a bout with polio in his teens. Fesco contracted a transient strain and wasn’t paralyzed, but he was bedridden for weeks with tremors and fever.

His mother, Mary, cared for him during the battle with polio and further extended his life expectancy by getting him to quit smoking. From Villanova University he mailed home his laundry; but when Mary spotted a cigarette burn she sent back the dirty clothes with a note telling Fesco to either quit smoking or do his own laundry. He swore off tobacco.

After Villanova, Fesco headed west for medical school at Northwestern University. He completed his residency in general surgery at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and served with the U.S. Air Force, rising to captain and chief of surgery at an air force base in Georgia.

He might have returned to the East Coast, but while interning at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago he met a nurse at Northwestern University Medical Clinic named Anne Condron, a native of Ottawa who persuaded him to put down roots in the Illinois Valley.

“Being a smart doctor, I decided to practice where she wanted to live,” Fesco once recalled. “And everything worked out all right.”

Fesco began his general private practice in La Salle while continuing to specialize in surgery. He eventually formed the first surgical group in the area and was a mentor to younger physicians.

“He took me under his wing,” said Dr. Tom Curry, a longtime colleague. “He was a very great friend.”

Fesco also was active in professional associations. He was a leader of the La Salle County Medical Society and served as president of the Illinois State Medical Society in 1987.

Former state Rep. Frank Mautino, now Illinois auditor general, said Fesco was a respected voice in Springfield.

“Ed was a trusted friend, and I relied on his advice when legislation affecting healthcare was in front of the General Assembly,” Mautino recalled. “I would routinely pick up the phone and talk to him. Ed was a dedicated and respected member of the medical community and he was always willing to help. I will miss him and his sense of humor.”

Despite his busy career, Fesco was a patron of the arts who loved opera (but with a soft spot for John Prine and The Beatles) as well as civic leader who served as member and past president of the La Salle-Peru High School Board.

Longtime L-P board member Rose Marie Lynch said Fesco was “very serious” about education – “I really respected and admired him” – but also was a fun person to be around. Lynch said she socialized regularly with Fesco and his wife Anne, who died in 2019.

Lynch was also one of Fesco’s last patients. Bad knees forced Fesco to quit the operating room in 2012, at which time he switched to general practice before finally retiring in 2015.

“I’d inherited a lot of doctors’ patients because their doctors had died and the patients knew me because I had operated on them,” Fesco said on the cusp of retirement. “So whether I liked it or not, I became a general practitioner, taking care of elderly patients I’d done surgery to.”

Hurst Funeral Home in La Salle is in charge of arrangements.