• Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009
• 10 a.m. – Noon
• Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Complex, 11025 N. 46th St., Tampa, FL

During the grand opening ceremony of the new 31,500-square-foot Hillsborough County Medical Examiner
Complex, officials will recognize the previous two chief medical examiners: John R. Feegel, M.D., J.D., and
Peter L. Lardizabal, M.D. Their family members are scheduled to be present at the ribbon cutting to accept these
recognitions.

As the first Hillsborough County Medical Examiner, Dr. Feegel moved the Medical Examiner office from the
basement at Tampa General Hospital to the Morgan Street Facility in downtown Tampa, which served residents
from 1978-2008. He possessed law and medical degrees, and was able to draw upon his legal background when
he served as Hillsborough County from 1973-1977.

Dr. Lardizabal took over as medical examiner after Dr. Feegel, serving Hillsborough County from 1977-1990.
During this time, he worked to expand the office by establishing an in-house forensic toxicology laboratory to
provide timely examination of sensitive specimens and better quality control of those examinations. He also
hired additional forensic pathologists and investigators.

More About Dr. John R. Feegel

After leaving Hillsborough County, he worked as a chief medical examiner in
Fulton County, Ga., while simultaneously flying back to Hillsborough County
every week to practice law with a concentration in medical malpractice. He also
taught graduate courses at the University of Tampa and the University of South
Florida (USF).

He put his wide range of experiences into words and wrote seven mystery
novels. In 1976, he won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers
of America for his first book, Autopsy.

Aside from his professional endeavors, he also took seriously the importance of
charity. He paid for the higher education of dozens, and provided free medical
care to indigents.

At the time of his sudden death, he was pursuing his dream of earning his theologian degree.

Dr. Feegel was born in 1932 in Middleton, Conn., and died in 2003 in Tampa,
Fla., at age 70. He was survived by his wife, five children and nine
grandchildren.

More About Dr. Peter L. Lardizabal

As a proponent for integrating law enforcement and judiciary sectors with
forensic pathology, Dr. Lardizabal proactively provided primary and ongoing
training to professionals, such as law enforcement officers, judges, state
attorneys and public defenders. In addition, he was an associate professor of
pathology at USF.

Known for having an intense concern for the welfare of others, he fought to
bring Hillsborough County Medical Examiner employees—who were paid as
full-time contractors at the time—under the civil service system, providing them with the same benefits all
Hillsborough County employees receive.

Dr. Lardizabal was also known for his experience with mass casualty disasters. He was involved in the Eastern
Airlines plane crash into the Everglades in 1972 that caused 99 fatalities, as well as the Sunshine Skyway
Bridge collapse in 1980 that caused 35 fatalities.

Dr. Lardizabal was born in 1925 in the Philippines and died in 2004 in Tampa, Fla., at age 79. He was survived
by his wife, seven children and 10 grandchildren.