Memorial services set for trauma surgeon killed in Iraq

Updated Dec. 30, 12:05 p.m.

Penn trauma director John Pryor, a major in the Army Reserve Medical Corps, died Wednesday in Mosul, Iraq, after suffering wounds from mortar rounds near his living quarters, according to a Department of Defense statement.

The 42-year-old surgeon from Moorestown, N.J. - a father of three - was serving his second tour as a combat surgeon with the U.S. Army, University President Amy Gutmann said in a statement.

He deployed Dec. 6, according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pryor was the Trauma Program director for the Trauma Center at Penn and the director of the Office of Life Support education for the Division of Trauma.

He drew on his trauma experience to help him in Iraq. In an opinion column in The Washington Post in August 2007, he wrote, "As nine or 10 patients from a firefight rolled in, I sometimes caught myself saying 'just like another Friday night in West Philadelphia,'" describing his first tour of duty in Iraq.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Pryor also went to Ground Zero to assist those wounded from that day's terrorist attacks, according to the Inquirer.

"John's career was marked by a deep commitment to service which was exemplified each day in his work as a trauma surgeon and, most recently, on the battlefield," said Gutmann. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues as they cope with this devastating loss."

Pryor is survived by his wife, Carmela Calvo; daughter, Danielle; two sons, Francis and John and parents, Richard and Victoria.

A public wake will be held at Moorestown Memorial Home, 334 Chester Ave. in Moorestown, N.J., Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m., according to the funeral home.

A funeral Mass will take place at the Cathedral Basilica of SS Peter and Paul, 1723 Race Street in Philadelphia, at 10 a.m. on Monday.

Burial on Monday will be private.

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