Mourners pay respects to Dr. Frank Ercoli outside Desert Regional
An emotional goodbye for the beloved Dr. Frank Ercoli at Sacred Heart in Palm Desert that followed by a procession at Desert Regional Medical Center.
A small intimate group of family and friends gathered at the church to mourn the death of Dr. Frank Ercoli.
“I think we all know my dad was a tremendous storyteller and he would always ask someone else to tell the story... only to begin to tell the story two seconds later to make sure no detail was spared," said his son."Let us take today to celebrate and cherish our memories of such an amazing person, physician, father and philanthropist.”
Those at the funeral expressed sadness and grief.
“Farewell Paco, we will miss you," said Oscar Paz, a family friend.
A procession led by Palm Springs police and fire drove by the main the entrance of Desert Regional Medical Center. Medical staff stood outside the hospital to pay tribute as Ercoli's family and friends passed by.
“Frank touched upon a large number of people, there’s some people here that never worked with him but they have family members that he helped," said Dr. Ralph Steiger.
Staff showed gratitude for Ercoli, who worked at Desert Regional Medical Center for thirty one years serving as a medical director of the G. A. Richards Trauma Center since 1993.
He also founded the Hanson House, which provides a place to stay for family members of critically ill patients.
“He was actually the jewel in the crown here at desert regional and our crown and the jewel has fallen, I don’t know if we’ll ever be the same again," said Dr. Shubha Kerkar.
Ercoli died Tuesday at the age of 67. He was not just a respected physician, he was also a talented musician and a community leader.
“Frank is an amazing productive person in every aspect and even the little things like his interest in music and be able to perform with some of the rock bands at the annual Hanson House fundraising events," said Dr. Steiger.
“We just loved frank alot... and we never told him maybe he knew how much he was loved and cared for and how much he was respected," said Dr. Kerkar.
