Dr. Joseph Callaghan

Dr. Joseph Callaghan, age 83, of Decorah, IA, died on Friday, August 12, 2016 at his home in Decorah. Memorial Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 at St. Benedict Catholic Church, 307 West Main Street, Decorah, with Rev. Phillip Gibbs presiding. Burial will be in the Church cemetery. Visitation will be held after 9:30 a.m., at the church on Tuesday morning. In lieu of flowers the family would like memorials to go to Winneshiek Medical Center Hospice, 901 Montgomery Street Decorah, IA 52101 Joseph Callaghan was born on March 23, 1933, in Donegal, Ireland, son of Dr. Hugh and Peg Callaghan, a solo family physician in Dungloe, Ireland. He attended Blackrock College in Dublin and graduated from the National University of Ireland Medical School in 1958. Three days later, he started his internship in Chicago, followed by his surgical residency and later attending Surgical Staff at St. Joseph Hospital. Dr. Edward Hagen, Jr., a fellow hospital resident in Chicago, often spoke of his hometown, Decorah, and Dr. Callaghan and family moved there in 1965. He was the only surgeon in the Decorah area for thirty-five years, and his work included not only general surgery, but also (40%) Orthopedic, Gynecological and Surgical Obstetrics, etc. He was married to Ingrid Jensen on March 19, 1987, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Waukon, Iowa, by Monsignor Edward Lechtenberg. He was certified by the American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons. He was also a longstanding member and past president of the Iowa Academy of Surgery. Dr. Callaghan published ten papers in peer-reviewed U.S., British and Irish Surgical Journals. These papers were based upon his surgical experience gained in Decorah. He is survived by his wife, Ingrid, Decorah, IA. His three daughters: Oonagh (Enrique) Villagomez, Annapolis, MD; Siobhan (Christopher) Hansen, Tuxedo Park, NY; and Louise Callaghan, Ireland. Four grandchildren: Sofia and Joaquin Villagomez and Nicholas and Christopher Hansen. Ingrid’s four children: Lisa (Terry) Winchel, Shawna (fiancé Ryan Meier) Todd, Dana (Craig) Helton, and Derek Todd, One brother: Michael (Brid), Killybegs, Ireland. One sister: Angela O Marcaigh, Dublin, Ireland, along with three nieces and five nephews. Joe was preceded in death by his parents: Dr. Hugh and Peg Callaghan. One brother-in-law: Caoimhin O Marcaigh.