ENROLLED
2016 First Extraordinary Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 1
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN AND SENATORS FANNIN, RISER, AND
WALSWORTH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al"
Krotoski, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
WHEREAS, it was with deep regret and profound sorrow that the members of the
Legislature of Louisiana learned of the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski, M.D.,
Ph.D., M.P.H., on January 1, 2016; and
WHEREAS, on June 20, 1937, Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski was born as an
extraterritorial Polish citizen in Riga, Latvia, to Ludwik and Leokadia Krotoski; and
WHEREAS, in 1949, he and his family immigrated to the United States, and they
became naturalized United States citizens in 1955; and
WHEREAS, in 1952, he graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles,
California; at the age of fifteen, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles,
where he received a bachelor of arts degree in bacteriology; in 1968, he received a doctor
of philosophy degree in medical microbiology and a doctor of medicine degree, and he also
undertook an internship at Gorgas Hospital in what was then the Panama Canal Zone; and
WHEREAS, after receiving a commission from the United States Public Health
Service (USPHS) in 1969, Dr. Krotoski returned to the United States and was assigned to
do research on malaria at the National Institutes of Health field station in Chamblee,
Georgia; and
WHEREAS, in 1974, he completed a residency in preventive medicine and received
a master of public health degree in epidemiology from the University of California School
of Public Health; in July of 1975, Dr. Krotoski was assigned to the USPHS Hospital in New
Orleans to establish a tropical infectious disease research program; he also taught at the LSU
School of Medicine and Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine;
and
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WHEREAS, in 1980, Dr. Krotoski and others discovered the malarial hypnozoite as
the cause of relapse in malaria; in 1989 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology
and Medicine for this discovery; and
WHEREAS, in 1981, he was transferred to the National Hansen's Disease Center in
Carville, where he worked until he became the director of its national ambulatory program;
and
WHEREAS, in 1995, he retired from the USPHS at the rank of medical director; and
WHEREAS, throughout his exceptional professional career, Dr. Krotoski authored
and coauthored numerous scientific papers, presented his research findings at many
professional meetings, lectured on tropical infectious disease subjects, contributed to several
texts, served as a reviewer on many journal editorial boards, and was a member of the
American and British Societies of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; and
WHEREAS, after his retirement, Dr. Krotoski continued to serve as an academic
consultant in tropical diseases in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, served on the institutional
human subjects review board of Baton Rouge General Hospital, coauthored a revision of a
venerable textbook on diagnostic medical parasitology, and translated a book on the social
and artistic history of syphilis, from Polish to English; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Krotoski was devoted to Hippocratic respect for life activities and
to professional and local pro-life organizations, which required him to testify frequently
before committees of the Louisiana Legislature; and
WHEREAS, he was elected to serve as a Republican State Central Committee
member for two four-year terms; he was a devoted member of St. Jude the Apostle Parish,
where he was a member of the Knights of Columbus and a Eucharistic minister; and
WHEREAS, he and his beloved wife of twenty-eight years, Judith, were active in the
Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement until her death in 2013; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Krotoski is survived by his daughter, Aleksandra Krotoski, Ph.D.,
and her husband, Ben Hammersley; his stepson, John; his granddaughter, Ripley; his sister,
Danuta and her husband, Robert Shaw; his cousin, Maria Ostrowski; his niece, Karen and
her husband, Maurice Lallier; his nephews, Steve and Mark; and numerous other family
members and extended family members; and
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WHEREAS, Dr. Krotoski was a man with unique gifts and a charitable spirit who
shared his abilities with his community, state, and nation, and he is terribly missed but will
never be forgotten.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the death of Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski,
M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and does hereby recognize that the life and work of this extraordinary
gentleman will forever be a source of deep pride and honor for the state of Louisiana and the
United States of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the family of Wojciech Antoni "Al" Krotoski, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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