Obituary: Philip F. Corso, M.D., 94, of Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT - (From Shaughnessy Banks Funeral Home) Philip F. Corso, M.D., age 94, of Fairfield, CT, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at his home on June 23, 2022. He was a loving husband of 50 years to Betty Mae (Lanute), father, recent grandfather and friend to many.

Phil was born at home on August 14, 1927 in Bridgeport, CT to Sicilian immigrants, Frank and Rose (LaMastra) Corso.

He was a respected member of the community and touched many lives as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, having served as the former Chief of Plastic Surgery at Bridgeport, St. Vincent’s and Norwalk Hospitals.

Phil had an impressive academic and professional career that began at Shelton Grammar School and Central High School in Bridgeport, CT. He graduated in 1945, and was awarded the Frank Miller four-year, full-tuition academic scholarship to Yale.

At Yale, he was a member of the boxing team and played intramural baseball. In 1948, he graduated cum laude from Yale after three years, as one of the youngest members of his graduating class at age 20.

He was then accepted to Tufts University Medical School in Boston. At Tufts, he was chosen to be the editor of the Student Medical School Journal. In his senior year, Phil was asked to be the first editor of the prestigious Journal of the Student American Medical Association.

Upon graduation in 1952, he served his internship on the Cornell Surgical Service at Bellevue Hospital in New York City and the Bronx Veteran’s Hospital. He became Chief Resident on both services.

Phil entered the Navy in 1954 and was a Lieutenant in the Medical Corps, serving with the First Marine Division in Korea and then with the Third Marine Division in Japan. On returning from Japan, he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Hospital St. Albans in Long Island, New York where he was Chief of the Plastic Surgery service until his discharge in 1957.

He continued his plastic surgery training at the New York Hospital Cornell and the Bronx Veteran’s Hospital. While at New York Hospital he did a research project that was subsequently published and submitted in the international competition contest of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

It won second prize, which entitled Dr. Corso to three months of travel to outstanding plastic surgery centers in Europe, where he was able to observe and learn from some of the best physicians in the field.

In 1959, he accepted a two-year appointment as a Senior American Cancer Society Fellow at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. On completion, he was asked to become an Attending Surgeon on the Head and Neck Service at Memorial Hospital under the world-renowned Dr. Hayes Martin.

He remained on the service until 1964, after which he returned to Bridgeport, CT to open a practice specializing in Plastic and Head and Neck surgery. He was Board Certified in General Surgery and Plastic Surgery.

He took great pride in being able to help cancer patients, burn and accident victims, children born with cleft lip/palate, and many more.

Phil was an active member of the professional community and committed to educating the next generation. He was actively involved in the residency training programs at Bridgeport, St. Vincent’s and Norwalk Hospitals.

He also became a Clinical Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery at Yale Medical School. He published over 50 scientific articles and contributed four chapters to surgical textbooks on plastic and head and neck surgery.

Phil was a past president of the New York Regional Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Connecticut Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. For many years he served on the Board of Directors of the Aesthetic Society of America.

Throughout his life, Phil had a passion for hunting, traveling, reading, telling jokes. He spoke fluent Italian and was proud of his Italian-American heritage. He was considered to be an expert on Napoleon Bonaparte, having appeared on the History Channel and co-authored a book on the Death of Napoleon. Anyone who spent time in the formal living room of the old Corso home will recall that it was like a Napoleonic museum.

He was a member of the Brooklawn Country Club for 49 years where he was an avid tennis player, along with his family. Phil’s greatest joy in life was to spend time with and be surrounded by his loving family and his German Shorthaired Pointers. He was a true gentleman, a great storyteller and will be greatly missed.

Phil is survived by his beloved wife, Betty Mae (Lanute), his children Philip F. Corso, Jr. (Vickie) of Columbus, OH, Christina (Philip Furmato) and step-grandchildren, Frank and Jonathan of Blue Bell, PA, Christopher (Angela), and grandson Luca Philip of Phoenix, AZ. He was predeceased by his brother, Joe and his wife Lily (Sevart).

The family would like to thank VITAS Healthcare and Visiting Angels, as well as his caregiver, Cynthia Percel for her compassion and excellent care of “Dr. Phil” over the last few years.

Friends are invited to greet his family on Thursday, June 30, 2022 from 4-7 p.m. at the Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home, 50 Reef Road in Fairfield. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, July 1, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Assumption Church, 545 Stratfield Road in Fairfield.

Interment with Military Honors will follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Phil would want you to spend time with your family and create memories.