Pharmacology Professor Michael Barletta Dies at 84

Michael Anthony Barletta died on Oct. 24 at his residence in Kissimmee, Florida, where he was 84 years old. The Garden City, New York, resident had been a professor of pharmacology at St. John's University for 49 years.

Barletta was born on July 15, 1942, in Brooklyn. He grew up with a twin sister, Mildred, and an older brother, Francis. As a teenager, he worked as a delivery boy for Fauci's Pharmacy. There he met the father of future National Institutes of Health Director Anthony Fauci. Stephen Fauci became an early mentor to the young deliveryman. Barletta later studied pharmacy at St. John's University, where he met Helen J. Barletta. She had already accepted a date to a dance, but agreed to go with Barletta after he asked. They married in 1966 and were preparing to mark their 60th anniversary.

Barletta served in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps during the Vietnam War, reaching the rank of lieutenant. While stationed in Shiprock, New Mexico, he lowered the flag to half-staff in 1968 to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He took this action after other members of the base ignored President Lyndon B. Johnson's order. His first daughter, Lisa Marie, was born at a New Mexico base in 1967. The couple returned to New York and welcomed their second daughter, Alice Jeanne, in 1972.

Barletta taught at St. John's for nearly five decades, earning the nickname "Dr. B." He also worked as a staff pharmacist at Winthrop Hospital, which is now NYU Langone. All of the couple's grandchildren and great-grandchildren were born at that facility. His granddaughter Elizabeth works as a labor and delivery nurse there.

The family lived in Garden City and traveled internationally. Barletta enjoyed gardening, maritime literature, Clint Eastwood films, and discussions on art and political theory. He served as a confirmation sponsor for grandsons Alexander and Christopher. He hooded his son-in-law Mark at a doctoral graduation in 2002 and danced with granddaughter Joanna at her 2019 wedding. Both daughters named sons in his honor.

In August, Barletta attended the baptism of great-granddaughter Ella June at St. Raymond's in Lynbrook. A deacon asked the oldest person present to extinguish the Paschal candle. Barletta volunteered for the task. He is survived by his wife, Helen; daughters Lisa Marie and Alice Jeanne; siblings Francis and Mildred; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.