Dr. Alfredo Lazo Pauca, aged 91, died peacefully from natural causes in Leesburg, Virginia on May 16, 2021.  He was born in 1929 in Arequipa, Peru to his beloved parents Asela Lazo and Guillermo Pauca.  He was the second of nine children.  He graduated from San Marcos University in Lima, Peru with a Medical Doctorate in 1957.  Following his studies in Peru, he obtained a fellowship for the World Health Organization at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.  Dr. Pauca then worked as a Visiting Fellow  at Massachusetts General Hospital, a position he also filled at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Anesthesiology.  He worked as a Resident in Anesthesia at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania before moving to London to take a position as the Senior House Officer in Anesthetics at Hammersmith Hospital in 1963.  In 1964, Dr. Pauca took a position as a Research Assistant in Anesthesia at the Postgraduate Medical School of London after which he was a Research Fellow in the Research Department of Anesthetics at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in London.

During his time in London, he met Janet Thearle, the medical librarian.  They were married on August 28, 1965 and moved to Peru where their son, Leonard, was born.  In 1968, the family moved to Philadephia where Dr. Pauca was an Associate in Anesthesiology, then Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.  He then took a position as a Staff Anesthesiologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  During this time, his daughters Rosemary and then Deanna were born.   In 1977, the family moved to North Carolina where Dr. Pauca was an Associate and then full Professor in the Department of Anesthesia at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine.  He was an exacting teacher who maintained the highest of standards for himself and those around him in the service of his patients.

A prolific researcher, his greatest joy was in studying and sharing his discoveries and ideas in the areas of circulatory, respiratory, and autonomic nervous systems.  Following his retirement, he relaxed by getting up at 6 am every day and going to the Emeritus Office to work on papers, articles, and other writings related to research.  His work was published in the British Journal of Anesthesia, Anesthesiology, Canadian Anesthesia Society Journal, Annuals of Thoracis Surgery, Anesthesia Review, the Journal of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Chest, and the American Society of Anesthesia, among other publications.  To the very end of his life, he pursued his desire to improve medical care for all people.

Dr. Pauca was an athlete for most of his life.  Starting with Judo when he was in college, he trained in martial arts, earning his First Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do when he was in his 60s.  He later earned his Second Degree Black Belt and was a Senior Instructor with the Wake Forest University Karate Club in Winston-Salem.  He often spoke fondly of his time teaching and working with the club and constantly stressed learning control, not combat, with his students.

Dr. Pauca valued his family above all else.  He often told his children that although he came from difficult beginnings, he rose to his success because of what his family had done for him.  He very much believed that no one functions alone and that we, as human beings, have a responsibility to help one another.  He is preceded in death by his father, Guillermo Pauca, his mother, Asela Lazo, his brothers Guillermo and Raul, and his sisters Mary Pauca Lazo and Paula Pauca Lazo.  He is survived by his brother Victor, his sisters Doris Pauca Lazo, Nelida Pauca Lazo de Espinoza, and Ninfa Pauca Lazo de Alvarado.  He is also survived by his loving wife Janet Pauca, his son Leonard, Leonard's wife, Ivey Pauca, and their 3 children Lillian, Naomi, and Eli Pauca, his daughter Rosemary Silva, her husband Andrew Silva, and grandchildren Daniel and Alexandra Medeiros, his daughter Deanna Pauca, her husband John Colthar and their children Rosalind and Asela.  He will be deeply missed by all of them.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like to suggest donations to Brenner Children's Hospital or  Doctors without Borders made in Dr. Pauca's name.