Robert L. Giuntoli, Sr, an associate professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), died on September 21. He was 84. 

Dr. Giuntoli was born in Seattle, Washington, and graduated from Seattle Preparatory School in 1956. He worked his way through Seattle College (now Seattle University) before completing medical school at Saint Louis University School of Medicine in 1965 on an ROTC scholarship. He went on to fulfill his internship and residency training with the military and then served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. After transitioning from active duty to the Navy Reserve, he was accepted as the first board-accredited gynecologic oncology fellow at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Giuntoli started his fellowship in 1973 before joining the faculty at Penn’s School of Medicine in 1975, rising through the ranks to become associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in 1982 before retiring in 1992. 

Dr. Giuntoli was a member of the St. George Medical Society, a component of the American Cancer Society’s Philadelphia Division’s Professional Education Program. He published numerous peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, including The Journal of the American Medical Association. He was an expert in the management of cervical dysplasia, co-writing in 1987 an atlas on the diagnosis of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer, Atkinson’s Correlative Atlas of Colposcopy, Cytology, and Histopathology. 

Throughout his career, he remained committed to the improvement of the lives of women with ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancer. He was well respected and known for his kindness to his patients and colleagues. He trained countless medical students, residents and fellows at Penn.

He is survived by Geraldine Frances Giuntoli, his wife of 54 years; his children, Robert L Giuntoli, II, Michael Giuntoli, Malia Paladino, Peter Giuntoli and Francesca Cummings; his sister, Barbara Bussman; and his eight grandchildren. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors in 2022. Donations in Dr. Guintoli’s name can be sent to the Jordan Center for Gynecologic Cancer, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.