HLS 161ES-39 ORIGINAL
2016 First Extraordinary Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 1
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN
CONDOLENCES: Expresses condolences upon the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al"
Krotoski, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al"
3 Krotoski, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
4 WHEREAS, it was with deep regret and profound sorrow that the members of the
5Legislature of Louisiana learned of the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski, M.D.,
6Ph.D., M.P.H., on January 1, 2016; and
7 WHEREAS, on June 20, 1937, Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski was born as an
8extraterritorial Polish citizen in Riga, Latvia, to Ludwik and Leokadia Krotoski; and
9 WHEREAS, in 1949, he and his family immigrated to the United States, and they
10became naturalized United States citizens in 1955; and
11 WHEREAS, in 1952, he graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles,
12California; at the age of fifteen, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles,
13where he received a bachelor of arts degree in bacteriology; in 1968, he received a doctor
14of philosophy degree in medical microbiology and a doctor of medicine degree, and he also
15undertook an internship at Gorgas Hospital in what was then the Panama Canal Zone; and
16 WHEREAS, after receiving a commission from the United States Public Health
17Service (USPHS) in 1969, Dr. Krotoski returned to the United States and was assigned to
18do research on malaria at the National Institutes of Health field station in Chamblee,
19Georgia; and
20 WHEREAS, in 1974, he completed a residency in preventive medicine and received
21a master of public health degree in epidemiology from the University of California School
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HCR NO. 1
1of Public Health; in July of 1975, Dr. Krotoski was assigned to the USPHS Hospital in New
2Orleans to establish a tropical infectious disease research program; he also taught at the LSU
3School of Medicine and Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine;
4and
5 WHEREAS, in 1980, Dr. Krotoski and others discovered the malarial hypnozoite as
6the cause of relapse in malaria; in 1989 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology
7and Medicine for this discovery; and
8 WHEREAS, in 1981, he was transferred to the National Hansen's Disease Center in
9Carville, where he worked until he became the director of its national ambulatory program;
10and
11 WHEREAS, in 1995, he retired from the USPHS at the rank of medical director; and
12 WHEREAS, throughout his exceptional professional career, Dr. Krotoski authored
13and coauthored numerous scientific papers, presented his research findings at many
14professional meetings, lectured on tropical infectious disease subjects, contributed to several
15texts, served as a reviewer on many journal editorial boards, and was a member of the
16American and British Societies of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; and
17 WHEREAS, after his retirement, Dr. Krotoski continued to serve as an academic
18consultant in tropical diseases in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, served on the institutional
19human subjects review board of Baton Rouge General Hospital, coauthored a revision of a
20venerable textbook on diagnostic medical parasitology, and translated a book on the social
21and artistic history of syphilis, from Polish to English; and
22 WHEREAS, Dr. Krotoski was devoted to Hippocratic respect for life activities and
23to professional and local pro-life organizations, which required him to testify frequently
24before committees of the Louisiana Legislature; and
25 WHEREAS, he was elected to serve as a Republican State Central Committee
26member for two four-year terms; he was a devoted member of St. Jude the Apostle Parish,
27where he was a member of the Knights of Columbus and a Eucharistic minister; and
28 WHEREAS, he and his beloved wife of twenty-eight years, Judith, were active in the
29Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement until her death in 2013; and
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HCR NO. 1
1 WHEREAS, Dr. Krotoski is survived by his daughter, Aleksandra Krotoski, Ph.D.,
2and her husband, Ben Hammersley; his stepson, John; his granddaughter, Ripley; his sister,
3Danuta and her husband, Robert Shaw; his cousin, Maria Ostrowski; his niece, Karen and
4her husband, Maurice Lallier; his nephews, Steve and Mark; and numerous other family
5members and extended family members; and
6 WHEREAS, Dr. Krotoski was a man with unique gifts and a charitable spirit who
7shared his abilities with his community, state, and nation, and he is terribly missed but will
8never be forgotten.
9 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
10express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski,
11M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and does hereby recognize that the life and work of this extraordinary
12gentleman will forever be a source of deep pride and honor for the state of Louisiana and the
13United States of America.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
15to the family of Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 1 Original 2016 First Extraordinary Session Hoffmann
Expresses the condolences of the legislature upon the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al"
Krotoski, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
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