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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 60 - Friday July 14, 2004 |
Medical Doctor Dies in Motorcycle Accident By Mai Hoang Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer
Dr. Leroy Raphael was always busy in his job as an obstetrician and
gynecologist, but that didn't stop him from learning to fly his own
plane, playing the saxophone, riding motorcycles, preaching at his
church or being a father and husband.
He always put his best effort into each of his interests, said his
brother, Erwin Raphael of Detroit. "He didn't believe in doing anything
unless he could put his whole heart into it," he said.
Dr. Raphael, 45, of Orlando was killed Saturday, July 3rd when his
motorcycle collided into a sport utility vehicle on State Road 417 in
Seminole County, Florida. He was wearing a helmet.
Dr. Raphael was born Feb. 26, 1959, in Belle Vue Chopin, a small village
on the Caribbean island of Dominica. He spent most of his early years in
St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He moved to Florida in 1976 to
study at the University of Tampa. He attended medical school at the
University of South Florida, where he graduated in 1984.
When he was
growing up, he wanted to be a surgeon, but he changed his mind after
doing an obstetrician rotation in medical school, said his wife, Mona
Raphael. "He thought delivering a baby was the most happy time in a
person's life," she said.
His partners at Physician Associates of Florida said Dr. Raphael would
do anything to help his patients. He never treated them like work
obligations, but people he cared about. He often came in early or stayed
late to help a patient or a colleague, said his partner, Dr. Sam McLeod.
Mona Raphael said family was her husband's greatest priority. He always
had time to eat lunch with his daughter Monique, play basketball with
son Leroy or kiss her after a day at the office. "He was always here for
everyone," she said.
Dr. Raphael also is survived by four other children, Marcus, Mekya,
Malcolm and Stephon; his parents, Thomas and Martha Raphael of St.
Croix; and brothers Isaac of Winter Springs, Sam and Derek of Dominica,
Desmond of San Antonio, Texas, and Micah of Atlanta.
You will be missed!
Please visit the Guest Book for Dr. Leroy Raphael.
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