Geno Andreatta

Geno Andreatta, the loving husband of the late Ellen Andreatta, passed away on December 12th. Antonio Geno Andreatta, known to most as Geno, Dad and Pop-Pop, was born in Weed, California in 1932 to Ida Sartori Andreatta and Guerino Andreatta, who hailed from Casa del Cucco, Italy. He was the youngest of three children. Geno twice summited Mount Shasta before enlisting with the Air Force, where he served three years during the Korean War. The GI Bill took him to San Francisco State College, where he met the love of his life, Ellen Dresser (2017), and they married in 1957. According to family lore, Geno informed Ellen's family they were moving to Syracuse "for just a couple of years" while he finished up his graduate studies at Syracuse University. However, they never left. He joined SUNY Upstate Medical School in 1963 as an Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs and as an Instructor in the School of Allied Health Sciences, where he taught medical anthropology to future doctors and nurses for nearly a decade. Geno moved through the ranks as the Assistant Director, Director, Assistant Dean and finally Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs for Upstate. As an Assistant Professor during the early part of his career, he served as co-director of a research project on physician shortage and health care in rural New York and as an advisor to the Rural Medical Service Committee of the Medical Society of the State of New York. Geno retired from SUNY Upstate in 1995. As emeritus, he served on the Board of Directors for the Medical Alumni Foundation.

Geno loved the outdoors, gardening, travel, cooking, wine and family. Hiking, looking for mushrooms, and fishing were some of Geno's pastimes along with taking long camping vacations with the family. During retirement he and Ellen traveled exploring history, culture, food and wine. Geno became an excellent home winemaker and won several first place medals at the NY State Fair Home Winemaking Competition. Geno was an avid sports fan, who enjoyed the NY Yankees and college basketball. His shared joy was his children and grandchildren.

Geno is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Roy, and his wife Ellen of 60 years. Geno is survived by their three children, daughter Susan Andreatta (Tim Johnston) of Greensboro, NC; son Stephen Andreatta (Kate) of Binghamton, NY and daughter Cindy Andreatta of DeWitt, NY, two granddaughters, Devin Andreatta and Sophia Vinciguerra, and his older sister Velma of San Francisco, CA.

Donations can be made in memory of Geno's years of dedication to future doctors' education to the A. Geno Andreatta Scholarship at Upstate Medical Alumni Foundation, Setnor Academic Bldg #1510, 750 E Adams St, Syracuse, NY 13210 or online at medalumni.upstate.edu/scholarshipgifts . Please make checks payable to the Medical Alumni Foundation.

The family will hold a private service and celebration of life.