Renowned UW Professor Dies -- John J. Bonica, Pioneer In Anesthesiology, Spent Lifetime Trying To Rid Others Of Pain

World-renowned anesthesiologist John J. Bonica, a professor emeritus at the University of Washington, has died of a stroke at age 77.

Mr. Bonica died Monday while visiting the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, family members said.

He helped pioneer anesthesiology as a specialized field of medicine, writing in 1953 "The Management of Pain," a standard text on the subject.

Mr. Bonica was founder and chairman of the UW Department of Anesthesiology for 17 years before retiring in 1977.

He remained active at the university until his death, according to his sister, Elizabeth Rando of Tacoma.

Mr. Bonica also continued to work in the field, rewriting "The Management of Pain" in 1990 and updating "Principles and Practice of Obstetric and Anagesic Anesthesia," first published in 1967, just this summer.

At age 11, Mr. Bonica emigrated with his family from the Eolie Islands near Sicily to Brooklyn, N.Y. After winning championships in high school, Mr. Bonica wrestled professionally as the "Masked Marvel" to pay for medical school at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.

His many wrestling injuries prompted him to devote his life to rid others of pain through anesthesia, Rando said.

"He was the most affectionate, loving, compassionate person," Rando said. "He loved to alleviate pain for people, and that's why he was loved by so many people."

Mr. Bonica came to the Pacific Northwest in 1944 to work at Madigan General Hospital at Fort Lewis after interning at a hispital in New York. At Madigan, he treated soldiers wounded in World War II.

He led the Department of Anesthesiology at Tacoma General Hospital from 1947 to 1960, when he began to be recognized as a leader in the field.

Mr. Bonica observed medical practices in the Soviet Union in 1959, and he was a member of the United States' first official medical mission to China in 1973.

Mr. Bonica's wife, Emma, died a month ago. They had four children.