From the FSU Website, seminoles.com. Obituary for Donn Adam Szaro
Published in the Miami Herald on April 3, 2012
Donn Szaro, a deep-rooted
Floridian who became one of the global healthcare industry's leading
innovators, died unexpectedly but peacefully on March 31 while visiting his
mother outside Tampa. Szaro, 61, had spent more than 30 years as senior
executive at Ernst & Young, driving unprecedented change in his field, and
then left a comfortable retirement to serve his community in the
transformation of one of the country's largest public hospital systems. A
proud father and grandfather, his worldwide reputation lead him to work
with international leaders at prestigious centers like the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the Asian Business Conference at Harvard
University. He touched thousands of clients and oversaw thousands of
professionals, driving decades of progress in genetics, biotech,
pharmaceuticals and hospital administration. Through it all, he protected a
deep connection to the belief that the healthcare industry was more about
"healthcare" than "industry," believing that the work he shared with his
clients could cure disease, end hunger and elevate living standards around
the world. He also believed in mentorship, both formal and casual, and took
great pride in the success of his friends and colleagues. His work always
carried the signature humanity and humility of his Florida heritage and
family tradition, stretching back to his citrus-farmer grandfather. He
played football for the Florida State University Seminoles, choosing it
over two dozen other scholarship offers so he could stay close to his
beloved Jo, who he married in 1969. Even as his career pulled him across
the country and around the world, his home base was always in Florida. As
he moved from Tampa to Tallahassee to Jacksonville to Miami, he committed
himself to his family and his community. From the scholarship he endowed
for FSU student athletes to his leadership in the United Way of Miami-Dade
County, Donn never drew a line between the ideals he pursued at work and
those he lived at home. Donn's years of hard work and service led to a
comfortable retirement with his wife. But for Donn, that did not mean
relaxing in his home overlooking Biscayne Bay...it meant living up to a
commitment he made to his best friend, his wife JoAnn, to get healthy
together. As spirited as ever in these "post-work" years, he furthered his
love of boating and travel, which he did passionately with family and
friends. He loved spending priceless time building on his relationships
with his grandchildren and taking them "catching" - not fishing. Donn
fervently believed in and followed the FSU sports program, and always
looked back fondly at the experiences and memories he had with his family
and friends at football games. Retirement didn't last long, however, as
Donn saw another challenge on the horizon: the transformation of Jackson
Health System, one of the country's largest and most troubled public health
systems. As both a safety-net hospital for the neediest in our community
and a globally admired center for academic medicine and research, Jackson
was an institution Donn believed could overcome years of failure and become
a national model for delivering high-quality care to a huge and diverse
community. As the system's new chief strategy officer, he rejected
so-called conventional wisdom and pushed relentlessly for the kind of
innovation that he had spent a career developing. Donn's international
success was always tempered by his easy smile, genuine personal loyalty and
old-Florida belief in a handshake and a promise. He never failed to light
up at the mention of his family, particularly JoAnn Szaro, his wife of 42
years. He is also survived by his beloved children and grandchildren -
Shelly & Jay Kossoff (Sari, Bailey and Brady), Adam & Jennifer Szaro (Kaleb
and Jonah), Alex Szaro, and Rebecca & Mike Sweet (Samantha and Penelope) -
his loving mother, Arlene Szaro and his siblings Ben Szaro, Paul and Margie
Szaro, and Patti & Bill Sons.
