Peter F. Ferson, M.D.

Dr. Peter F. Ferson of Allison Park, died on Sunday, June 30 with his family and dear friends by his side. 

Peter, a Mt Lebanon native and son of the late Dr. Regis F. and Mary (Fleming)  Ferson, was Professor Emeritus of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.  His 50 year commitment to patient care and surgical education began as a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh and culminated as the Charles Gray Watson Professor of Surgical Education. Peter was the first surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to focus solely on the lungs. His career included appointments as the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the VA Medical Center, where he previously served as Assistant Chief of Surgery and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery from 1980 to 1990; and as an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Peter was a graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School and The Johns Hopkins University. His guidance, knowledge, compassion, and wit will be greatly missed by his peers, students, friends, and most especially by his loving wife, Denise; his son and daughter in law Mike and Marisa of La Grange, IL; his daughter and son in law Kelly and Joe Schulter of Springfield, VA; his brother and sister in law, Mike and Mary Jo Ferson of Prospect; his nephew and namesake Peter J. Ferson; his four grandchildren: Evelyn, Alexander, Marleigh, and Rory; his stepson and fiancée Matthew McPherson and Michelle Dumontier of Carnegie, PA; his stepdaughter and fiancé Mia McPherson and Zack Schroeder, of Mt. Lebanon, PA; and his stepson and daughter in law Mark and Dr. Jessica McPherson of Quincy, MA.

Peter’s friends and colleagues are invited to a celebration of his life at Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church at 6pm on Tuesday, July 2. Visitors will be received by his family from 4 until 6 on that day, at the church.

In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Peter’s commitment to education through donations to the University of Pittsburgh Medical School’s Medical Student Scholarship Fund or the University of Pittsburgh’s General Scholarship Fund

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