John Francis Ditunno, Jr., M.D., pioneering physician and Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and was an Endowed Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, passed away on March 18, 2024 at Waverly Heights in Gladwyne PA.  He was 91.

Son of  the late John F. Ditunno, DDS and Catherine Ditunno (nee Collins), John was born in Baltimore, MD.  on June 8, 1932.

John was the loving husband of C. Patricia (Lyons) Ditunno, to whom he was married to for 58 years.  Devoted father of 4 daughters- Christopher Aileen Ditunno,  Anne-Marie Ditunno Bondi (Joseph N.), Lauri Anne Ditunno (Jeffrey Moore) and Theresa Anne Ditunno (JuHwon Lee).  Loving grandfather of Joseph J., Clare Maria & Kathyrn Elizabeth Bondi; John Atlas & Jett William Moore; and Matteo Ditunno, Mila Helena, Olivia Patricia & Theo Ditunno Lee. Dear brother of the late Mary Elizabeth Barlow (the late Rick).  He is also survived by his nephews Brian & Jim Barlow.

John was a graduate of St. Joseph's Prep, St Joseph's University & Hahnemann University School of Medicine.  He served his residency at University of Pennsylvania. John worked as a physician and Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine and was an Endowed Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He served 2 years of mission as a rural general practitioner in Hot Springs, NC post-internship. He took a sabbatical to learn sculpting in stone in Italy and melded his medical field and sculpting interest to sculpt in wheelchairs, which although metaphorically anchored to the stone, conveyed the hope he saw in his patients. Some of his work is displayed in spinal cord centers in India, Canada, Italy, and Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia. He Co-founded the Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley at Jefferson and was its Director from 1979 to 2006.

Relatives and friends are invited on Friday March 22nd, Visitation at 9:30 AM with Funeral Mass at 10:30 AM at St. John Vianney Church, 350 Conshohocken State Rd., Gladwyne, PA.  Interment will be private at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations be made to the: John F. Ditunno, Jr MD Rehabilitation Medicine Endowed Research Fund, Thomas Jefferson University EIN: 23-1352651, Office of Institutional Advancement, 125 South 9th Street Suite 500 Philadelphia, PA 19107