Edward Laskowski

Dr. Edward J. Laskowski, 96, Bismarck, died November 19, 2012, at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck, following a brief but acute illness. Services will be held at 11:00 am Friday, November 23, at McCabe United Methodist Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Ray Baker officiating. Burial will be held at 2:00 pm Friday, November 23, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Thanksgiving evening, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Ed Laskowski was born on April 8, 1916, in the Polish District of Cleveland, OH, to John S. and Olga Weiczorek Laskowski. His elementary and high school education were in Cleveland, and he graduated from Garfield Heights High School in 1934 as salutatorian. He participated in track and basketball while in high school. At age 11, he was a piano soloist with the Cleveland Symphony's Summer Pop Concert. Ed graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, OH, in 1936, and from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, in 1938. He then entered St. Louis University School of Medicine and graduated in 1942. His internship was completed in 1943 at St. John's Hospital in Cleveland. In 1942, Ed married Elizabeth LaRose of Bismarck; they had two children, Vic and Mary. Ed served with the Navy during WWII as a Medical Officer in the Pacific Theatre from 1944 to 1946. Upon his return from the military, he briefly practiced surgery with the Quain & Ramstad Clinic in Bismarck from 1946-1947. After setting up his medical practice in Longview, WA, he was recalled into the Navy and served during the Korean War from 1952-1955. He was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Ed did his residence in neurosurgery at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, from 1955-1962. While there, he was on the team of four surgeons who performed the first successful separation of cranial conjoined twins. He also taught neurosurgery at the Georgetown University Postgraduate School in Washington, DC. In 1963, he moved to Birmingham, AL, where he was Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Alabama. Moving to Bismarck in 1966, Ed practiced neurosurgery at the Quain & Ramstad Clinic, later forming the Bismarck Neurological Associates with Dr. Roger Kennedy and Dr. Don Larson. In 1967, Ed married Arloene Huizenga and they have resided in Bismarck ever since. They have one son, John Gerrit. Dr. Ed was active in the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony League and served as president. He retired from neurosurgery in 1976, and served for many years as the medical director of the Worker's Compensation Bureau. In 2000, he was named North Dakota's Outstanding Older Worker and was honored along with 49 others in Washington, DC. He was the medical consultant for Social Security Disability Determination Department until September 2011. He served as part-time medical consultant for Vocational Rehab until the time of his death. Ed was an active member of McCabe United Methodist Church, the American Medical Association, the North Dakota Medical Association, the Elks Club, and the American Legion. He had a passion for golf, and enjoyed music and traveling. In his younger years, he enjoyed deer hunting and bowling. Ed is survived by his wife of 45 years, Arloene; daughter, Mary, Maui, HI; two sons, Vic, Rimrock, AZ, and Dr. John and his wife, April, Norfolk, NE; one niece; one great-niece; and one sister-in-law, Dorothy Huizenga. Dr. Ed was the "adopted grandpa" of Brittany and Brooke Wolf. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother and sister-in-law, Gene and Leona Laskowski; and his brother-in-law, Clarence Huizenga. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the McCabe United Methodist Church, 1030 N 6th Street, Bismarck, ND, 58501.

Edward Laskowski

April 8, 1916 - November 19, 2012