Obituary of John M Feilla, MD

John M. Feilla, MD, an internist who spent five decades caring for patients, passed away on May 1, 2020. He was born in Port Said, Egypt to Louis and Fernande Feilla, and earned a baccalaureate in French literature and letters from the De La Salle school, where he was also an accomplished soccer player. His interest in medicine was sparked after surviving polio in his youth. He trained to be a physician in Grenoble, France where he met his wife, Catherine, and where his two sons, Jean-Luc and Jean-Michel, were born. He moved with his family to Detroit in 1966, where he completed his residency at St. Johns Hospital, and in 1970 began his career in private practice in East Detroit (Eastpointe). He was a caring and committed doctor, devoted to his patients and their families. In 2018, he received a special recognition from the American Cardiology Association for his exceptional success fighting heart disease. An avid amateur historian, he contributed articles to Slingshot magazine on ancient and medieval military history and in 1981 won the Alan Nicholls Prize from the Society of Ancients for an article on the Bouvines campaign. He was a loving and beloved father, husband, and grandfather, who made every conversation sparkle and every meal a feast. He is survived by his wife, Catherine; his children Luc (Karen), Mike (Cathy), and Cecilia (Michael); and grandchildren Collin, Tristan, Ian and Anna. He will be missed terribly by many.