Dr. David Hirschauer's Obituary
Dr. David Robert Hirschauer was born on October 17th, 1961 in Des Moines, Iowa, to his loving parents, Richard and Betty Hirschauer, and his older brother, Tom Hirschauer. He had a very fun childhood growing up in Des Moines, where he made many lifelong friendships. Dave grew tall quickly, and was strong and athletic. He played many sports, most enjoying basketball where he played as a center, and football, where he played as an offensive lineman. During his football career as a proud Valley High School Tiger in Des Moines, he was offered a scholarship to play on the college football on the offensive line at South Dakota State University (SDSU).
He enjoyed helping others, and during an early life event where a family member fell and broke a bone, he helped her mend and really enjoyed getting to watch the doctors help her heal as well. He began to be really interested in a future career in medicine.
He decided to venture out of his beloved Iowa after graduation from high school, and took that scholarship to play football and pursue a pre-med Biology major at SDSU. While a knee injury derailed his football playing career while at SDSU, he still enjoyed staying active and remained a lifelong football fan. He dove into his pre-med studies, and joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity while in his undergraduate studies as well. There, he found a sense of fellowship and remained lifelong friends with many of his SAE brothers.
Dave excelled in his pre-med coursework, and began applying to medical schools during his senior year of college. He vetted different offers, and decided to come back home to Des Moines, enrolling at Des Moines University (DMU) College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also had the opportunity to move back in with parents who were still living in Des Moines, and enjoyed spending time with them. He also enjoyed his mother’s home cooking and doing his laundry so he could strongly focus on his rigorous medical school studies!
The first 2 years of medical school are classroom based, and the next 2 years consist of rotating at different hospitals and learning how to become a “real” doctor. He worked hard at his classwork and got to meet great friends and worked with some memorable clinicians, including Dr. TePoorten, who is an esteemed practitioner in the osteopathic medicine community. During his rotation years, Dave was able to rotate at different hospitals and sites in Iowa and other places in the Midwest, but he was most excited to get to rotate at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. While in medical school, Dave also joined the Navy, following in the footsteps of his father who was also a Navy veteran.
During his medical school career, he met Catherine (Cathie) Brower, who had moved from rural northwest Iowa to work in Des Moines. The two of them hit it off and began dating. During the final year of medical school, Dave had to decide where to pursue his further residency training.
He had settled on becoming an anesthesiologist, as he really enjoyed being in the operating room and getting to see an immediate improvement in people who came in before and after surgery, rather than more gradual changes over time that are noted in fields like outpatient primary care.
Dave and Cathie got married in Des Moines, Iowa, at Grace Lutheran Church (Cathie’s mother and Dave’s mother were of strong Lutheran faith) and after much deliberation, the two native Iowans decided they wanted to come to sunny Florida. Dave was able to rotate as a medical student at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he worked very hard and demonstrated his clinical acumen. So when the time came for the medical residency “Match” process, he decided to rank Jackson Memorial Hospital as his #1 preference, despite knowing anesthesia was a very competitive specialty to match into and Jackson Memorial Hospital was one of the top hospitals to pursue residency training. On top of this, Dave was a “DO” or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. DOs historically have been less respected than MDs (the more commonly known degree a medical doctor would hold) although their training is the same, and DOs actually receive additional training in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), where DOs can manipulate the bones and blood flow of the body to help treat illnesses. It would bean uphill battle for a DO from the Midwest to match at Jackson Memorial. As with every other challenge in his life though, Dave worked indefatigably hard and matched at Jackson Memorial Hospital, with University of Miami’s anesthesiology residency program.
Dave and Cathie moved to Wellington, FL, where Dave finished his initial first year of training (called an “internship”) in general medicine, which all future specialists have to complete before beginning their specialty training. After completing his internship, Dave and Cathie moved to Davie, FL, close to where Dave would finally pursue anesthesia training at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Anesthesia is a notoriously arduous residency program with a steep learning, long work hours, high stress, and high stakes clinical situations. Dave’s strong work ethic, positive can-do attitude, excellent interpersonal skills, and clinical acumen carried him through his brutal residency training, and he went from a junior resident to eventually becoming a Chief Resident in his 4th and final year of residency, where he mentored junior residents and passed along all he had learned. He also really enjoyed the pain management aspect of anesthesia, and really enjoyed doing procedures and working with his hands. He was so adept at this that he actually became double Board Certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Management!
During Dave’s final year of residency, him and Cathie were excited to be welcoming their first child into their lives on May 1st, 1992: a son, Jonathan! This continued a long history of Hirschauer males being born consecutively. After having completed residency, during which Cathie’s parents moved to Cape Coral, FL and Dave’s parents became snowbirds spending summers in Des Moines, and winters in St. Petersburg, Florida, it became time to decide where Dave would pursue his first job as a fully trained and Board Certified attending physician anesthesiologist and pain management specialist. The two loved their home state of Iowa, but didn’t miss the snow and tough winters, and having fallen in love with the warm sun and beautiful Florida scenery (and partially because Dave was such a big sports fan and loved a good sports town), they choose Tampa, FL.
So Dave took his first job at St. Petersburg General Hospital, right outside of Tampa. Finally getting to enjoy a healthier paycheck than the meager salary paid to a resident physician, the two took baby Jonathan and moved into a beautiful home in the historic Old Northeast section of St. Petersburg, FL. Dave worked hard at this job; long hours, many nights on-call, and very difficult and complex cases. He also continued training and fulfilling Navy service requirements (luckily during times of non-war), and even rose all of the way to the rank of Commander in the Navy. One day, while walking their dog Sadie around the neighborhood, Cathie met the wife of Dr. Alfred Bonati. They began talking, and Cathie noted that her husband was an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist. Dr. Bonati’s wife’s ears perked up at this, and mentioned that Dr. Bonati was looking to hire an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist to their practice in Hudson, FL. Cathie told Dave about this opportunity - a much more stable life with no on-call, and regular Monday-Friday hours, at an outpatient spine surgery clinic where Dave could perform anesthesia and pain management. Dave thought this sounded like a dream come true after the brutal grind that was working at the St. Pete hospital, and after an interview with Dr. Bonati, was the offered the job which he excitedly took.
Around this time, Dave and Cathie were excited to welcome their second child into their family. This time, the nearly 100 year streak of only male Hirschauer babies being born was broken! Elizabeth Anne Hirschauer was born on May 28th, 1994. Dave and Cathie moved out to Lutz, Florida to be much closer to Dave’s new work at The Bonati Spine Institute which was located in nearby Hudson, FL. They moved to a very elegant gated golf course neighborhood called Cheval, where many high achieving young professionals were moving to and raising their young families. There, the two of them enjoyed raising their 2 children, traveling, and having active social lives. Professionally, Dave quickly took to the unique brand of “conscious sedation” that was a novel anesthesia technique he pioneered at The Bonati Spine Institute. This allowed the patient to stay awake and pain-free enough to feel and call out if they felt breakthrough pain, which meant the surgeons were close to a nerve root. This drastically minimized the risk of nerve injuries which can be common in spinal surgery. It was also much more difficult and nuanced for the anesthesiologist than just performing general anesthesia, where the patient is fully asleep. Dave honed this technique and it was met with revolutionary outcomes - previously open, invasive, and very risky and painful bony fusions of the spinal vertebrae with hardware installed were replaced with the patient participating in their procedure and the whole surgery being performed via a tiny incision using scopes and tubes. Patients loved it and the clinical results were excellent. The Bonati Spine Institute was a place people would come from all over the world to have this special procedure done, and Dave kept them engaged and comfortable and safe. He also really enjoyed getting to perform epidural injections and other pain management procedures, where his skilled hands helped people feel better almost instantaneously.
Although Cathie and Dave later ended their marriage, they did so amicably, and remained friends and great parents to their two children. Dave enjoyed taking the kids on many trips (including many trips out West to ski), and was an excellent role model and the best father anyone could ask for. He looked after them with his whole heart, and enjoyed raising them and supporting them with their own goals and ambitions. Dave had also developed a strong network of friends in Tampa and enjoying spending time with them and playing basketball with this good group off guys in the in-ground hoop in his driveway.
Around the time Elizabeth was finishing middle school and Jonathan was in the middle of high school, Dave met Jody Smith. The two of them connected and a relationship soon blossomed. They became married, and later welcomed their son, Peyton James Hirschauer, into their lives in 2010. Jonathan had recently began his freshman year (also opting to become pre-med like his father!) at the University of Florida and had moved to Gainesville, FL, so Dave was excited to have a new little man around the house to raise and support. Jonathan and Elizabeth (who would begin her freshman year at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL 2 years later), although at much different stages of their lives, were excited to meet their little brother and welcome him into the family. Dave, although older than some first time fathers, kept his body in tip top shape with regular exercise at the local Bob Sierra YMCA. He was as strong as an ox, and enjoyed getting to roughhouse, play sports with, and raise another little boy and teach him how to become a good man. The family moved from Cheval to a beautiful and spacious lakefront property on Lake Keystone in Odessa, FL, which they designed and custom built together. This house had ample space for all of the kids, including a game room and workout room, a poolroom and bar, a home theater, and a huge back patio to enjoy the views of the lake. They also got a boat and jet skis to enjoy the lake. The kids and their friends all had a good time coming over to play and hang out at that house, and many family gatherings and parties were held there.
Dave and Jody later ended their marriage, but remained committed to raising Peyton as a team. During this time, Dave enjoyed spending time with family and friends, raising his kids, staying physically active, and of course, enjoying Tampa Bay sports. In fact, he fell in love with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and having held season tickets for over 20 years, never missed a home game and watched each away on television with family and friends. Even through the lean early years (and there were many for the fledgling Buccaneers NFL franchise), he remained a diehard fan and rooted his team, knowing every player on the roster and fancied himself an amateur coach from the bleachers and amateur GM during the NFL Draft. He also got into Gator and Seminole college sports to support Jonathan and Elizabeth.
Dave had known Sharon Fitzpatrick for many years, as she was one of the surgical nurses he frequently worked with at The Bonati Institute. They later reconnected and resumed their friendship, which turned into a loving relationship. They were married on January 13th, 2018, in a touching ceremony performed right by Lake Keystone in their backyard of their magnificent Odessa home, surrounded by loving friends and family. Jonathan, Elizabeth, and Peyton quickly became good friends with Sharon’s two children, Cullen Fitzpatrick and Katie Fitzpatrick, and they all came together to form a strong and loving blended family unit. Sharon took an active role in all of the kids’ lives, and was always kind and loving to Jonathan, Elizabeth, and Peyton as well. She brought a gentle and loving presence to the home. Dave was an excellent chef and so was Sharon - the kids all enjoyed their teamwork on making excellent meals for everyone!
The two of them worked hard at raising their children to be good men and women of principal and honor, be loyal and respectful, and to be hard and resilient workers. Dave embodied this completely - in 30 years of work at The Bonati Institute, he did not call out of work ever, and even if he didn’t feel the best, he would push through and go in and give his all to care for his patients and provide for his family. After a bout of emergency appendicitis while on a plane, he required emergency surgery. He had work the next day and didn’t want to miss it, so he left the hospital against medical advice (AMA) as he said he didn’t want to let his patients or family down, despite encouragement to rest and recuperate from family. He never backed down from a challenge, handled adversity with strength and perseverance, and always made a point to look after and take care of others, even when he was going through something himself.
Dave and Sharon’s relationship and connection grew deeper, and the kids all were growing up and flourishing in their chosen fields. Dave was very proud of his son Jonathan, who started medical school at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Davie, FL, the same city Jonathan was born in. Jonathan was going to be a doctor like his dad, and a DO as well to boot, which Dave was proud of! Elizabeth had graduated from Florida State University, and ever the ambitious and fearless traveler, was teaching English in South Korea and exploring many countries all over the world. Peyton was growing up to be a fine young man and a huge sports fanatic as well. Katie was finishing her undergrad education at University of Central Florida and interested in going to graduate school to study Psychology. Cullen fell in love with aviation and was working hard in school to become a pilot. Everyone enjoyed spending time together as a family and, although everyone was in different phases of life and the kids were scattered around Florida (and the globe, in Elizabeth’s case), Dave would always keep up with them and let them know they were loved and supported. And the kids let him know the same in return, and everyone enjoyed times where they could all get together at that big lakefront home in Odessa and spent time together. Dave and Sharon enjoyed spending all of their time together, whether it was going out to see their friends, traveling the world (and introducing Sharon to all of his Iowa friends and family), spending time with their kids, or just relaxing and listening to music and talking together on the back patio of the house, overlooking the lake. Dave, a classic rock fanatic with a favorite band of The Rolling Stones, even got into country music with Elizabeth’s and Sharon’s influence. Dave and Sharon also loved going to Raymond James Stadium to see the Bucs play. They used 2 of their 4 season tickets for both of them, and with the 2 remaining tickets, brought all of the different children and many friends and family with them as well. Dave was so excited when the Bucs finally won the Super Bowl in 2003, and got to watch the Bucs win the Super Bowl in Tampa with Tom Brady at quarterback in 2021 on TV at the restaurant him and Sharon owned together, called Widow Fletcher’s in nearby New Port Richey, where Sharon was a server many years before becoming a nurse! He was surrounded by friends and family and enjoyed good food and drinks while cheering the Bucs on to victory.
Speaking of that restaurant, Dave and Sharon were so excited to go into this joint venture together. They learned that being restaurant business owners was hard work, but they worked well together and made things as successful as they could be. They were celebrities around the restaurant too, with every staff member and customer knowing their names and being acquainted with them, and routinely taking friends and family members to eat there as well.
They were also regulars on the downstairs area of the restaurant where live bands would play and Dave and Sharon would dance the night away and listen to the music together. They made business decisions there as a team, and their resilience and teamwork during difficult times in the restaurant business reflected their strong relationship and communication skills. The restaurant later changed to Seafire Grill, and became a little more “upscale”, but the two of them maintained their strong business relationship and kind way of treating staff and customers.
After 30 years of hard work and helping countless numbers of patients (and receiving countless gifts and letters of admiration from his patients), Dave decided to retire from The Bonati Spine Institute. He had been dealing with knee and hip pain, and had received a ruling that he was eligible to take advantage of the disability insurance plans he had paid into for many years.
During this time as a “retired” man, he still always wanted to be productive and couldn’t help himself from staying active and still practicing medicine, as the unofficial personal physician for many family and friends, and continued his clinical practice in hormone replacement therapy at Titan Medical Center in Tampa, FL, which he was passionate about. He also later worked with local chiropractors and orthopedic surgeons and performed disability evaluations and pain management procedures, where he could also utilize his DO training to help decrease skeletal pain. Around the house, he loved doing all of the hard manual labor and landscaping and would never ask for any help or complain, even in the sweltering Tampa summers. He always was a car fanatic, and was always researching and plotting the next cool car he could find for a great deal. He was looking into picking up the guitar again, an instrument he got pretty good at in high school. He talked about learning pickle ball, as he had fun playing tennis with his kids in the past. He also learned he was going to be grandfather, and was so excited for Jonathan and his wonderful wife Sammy’s baby boy to be born - another Hirschauer boy and his first grandchild!
Dave, having dealt with knee issues and being due for and recommended many times for a left knee replacement, underwent the procedure on March 6th, 2026. He did great with the surgery, and was healing well and already up and walking around, even a couple hours post-op! Him and Sharon spent that night together, with her serving as his personal nurse, and the two of them reminisced on all of the great things they had enjoyed in their lives together, all of the obstacles they had overcome, and their great plans for the future. Dave was happy and energetic and so excited for all of the great things to come in his life.
Sharon woke up the next morning on March 7th, 2026, and found that Dave was not breathing.She performed CPR and called 911, and paramedics brought Dave to St. Joe’s North Hospital in nearby Lutz, he had lived in the Cheval neighborhood for all of those years. He was pronounced deceased there that day. It was highly unexpected and shocking, and family and friends were devastated. So many messages of love and support poured in from all over Dave’s wide social, professional, and family network. All of them centered around the same theme; shock about why this happened to such a physically and mentally strong man, who was so kind and so giving, and who was so loved and loved so deeply.
He leaves behind his eldest son Jonathan and Jonathan’s wife, Sammy. Dave was so touched that, as a fellow DO, he was able to put on Jonathan’s white coat at the DO White Coat Ceremony, which marks the beginning of a student doctor’s medical school journey. He later got to put on Jonathan’s official “hood”, a ceremonial hood that grants the title of Doctor to a new osteopathic physician by another osteopathic physician at Jonathan’s medical school graduation. He loved his daughter-in-law (Jonathan and Sammy had been together since they were both 15 years so, so he considered Sammy to be like a daughter to him) and was so excited to become a grandfather to Sammy and Jonathan’s baby boy, who is due in spring 2026. He leaves behind his daughter, Elizabeth, who he cherished deeply and his son-in-law, Michael Frazier II. He was so excited when Elizabeth got married to her husband Michael who played basketball for the Florida Gators (when Jonathan was in undergrad there too!) and later played in the NBA and overseas. As a huge sports fan, he loved talking about sports with Michael. He was also very moved when Elizabeth and Michael asked if they could hold their wedding in the spacious backyard of his and Sharon’s home! Although it had to be relocated from the back yard to the front yard due to recent rain and wet grass, it was a wonderful ceremony and there wasn’t a dry eye (including Dave’s) when he walked Elizabeth down the aisle in her wedding dress as she became wed to Michael. The ceremony and reception after was full of love, family, and friendship, and it made Dave so happy to see all of the love and support Elizabeth has in her life.
He leaves behind Peyton Hirschauer, his younger son who he loved deeply and enjoyed getting to be a dad all over again with. The two bonded over sports, and Dave thought Peyton was becoming a fine young man as a freshman in high school. They enjoyed working out together, going to Bucs games, and talking about anything and everything. Peyton soaked up Dave’s wisdom and his great example, and Dave was so excited to see what the future would hold him. Whatever that future is, Dave knew it was a bright one.
He leaves behind his stepson, Cullen Fitzpatrick. Cullen quickly took to Dave as another father figure in his life, and they also enjoyed going to Bucs games together. Cullen’s easy going temperament and calm countenance were similar to Dave’s. Dave was so excited to get to know Cullen’s longtime girlfriend, Paige, as well, and was looking forward to seeing Cullen flourish into a capable airplane pilot.
He leaves behind stepdaughter, Katie Fitzpatrick and her longtime boyfriend, Seth. The two bonded and Dave was a supportive force and another father figure in Katie’s life. Dave enjoyed hearing about Katie’s ongoing studies and all of her hard work, and was very excited to see Katie finish her Psy.D (Doctorate in Psychology) training, and to become a Doctor herself!
He leaves behind his older brother, Tom, and his wife, Sandy. Tom and Dave were close in childhood, and although Dave moved to Florida while Tom stayed in Iowa, Dave would often bring his family up to Iowa to see Tom and spent time with other friends and family there as well. Dave valued Tom’s support as an older brother, and they both were avid sports fans. Tom and Sandy’s three children, Alec, Weston, and Chase were also loved by Dave and he made sure his kids spent plenty of time with their cousins in Iowa throughout their lives.
He leaves behind his wife, Sharon. Sharon and Dave started out as co-workers, became friends, and eventually fell in love and developed a beautiful life together. Dave and Sharon were looking forward to running their restaurant together, traveling, spending time with friends, family, children, and their soon-to-be grandchild. She was the light of his life and he was hers too. They were always smiling together and had a deep and loving relationship. They were truly soulmates. Dave is joined in Heaven by his mother, Betty, and his father, Richard. They raised him to be the great man he was and he loved them and they loved him deeply as well. He enjoyed getting to visit with them in Des Moines when they were there, and in St. Petersburg, FL at the condo they bought. They were closely involved in Dave and his kids’ lives.
Dave was and is a wonderful, one-of-a-kind man. Physically, he was a handsome and very strong and tall man. Mentally, he was very sharp and knowledgeable. Personally, he was kind and giving, and always looked to help others and not have them worry about him. Professionally, he was a skilled, hard working, and prolific physician, who was well respected by his peers and loved by his patients, who came from all over the world to see him, and always brought a variety of unsolicited gifts as thanks for his caring for them. He had a great sense of humor, and loved to talk about anything, from sports, to politics, to finance, to work, to music, to relationships, and most importantly, how much he loved his family and friends and how much he appreciated everyone’s love and support of him. He was an excellent husband, father, stepfather, son, brother, friend, veteran, and physician.
The day he passed, a light went out in the sky of everyone who knew Dave. That light burned so bright and was so warm though, that its effect will never be forgotten. We who are left behind are devastated for the loss of this wonderful man, and the hole it will leave in all of our lives. We are also in sorrow for Dave himself, as although he lived a fulfilling and fantastic life, he was so excited for all of the beautiful things ahead of him.
Dave would appreciate all of the kind words and the condolences regarding his passing. He would further know, as he did in life, that he loved deeply and was loved deeply. He would be thankful for everything everyone did for him and taught him, and he would want us to take the lessons he has taught us and the example he has set and continue to be the best people we can be. He would be sad he could no longer directly care for us, but he would know we are all strong and can move forward, as his bright light will never leave us. He would know he would be remembered forever. His memory will pop up during a variety of activities - while at a sporting event, listening to sports talk radio, eating good steak, cheese, and corn, enjoying one of his favorite brands of beer, telling a funny joke, playing card games, at big family gatherings where he would have made a toast, when doing yard work, listening to classic rock and country music, visiting Iowa, lifting weights, figuring out side hustle jobs for extra income, going boating, going skiing, playing basketball, throwing a football around, dancing, helping a friend in need, and telling your loved ones that they are loved. All of these and many more things will remind us of Dave and keep him and his spirit alive in our minds and hearts. To Dave in finality, your family and friends love you, and appreciate you so much (more than words can express) for all that you are and all that you’ve done. You deserve to rest now, and we will carry on your memory and spirit in your honor.
2 Timothy 4:7-8:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but to all who have loved his appearing.”
What’s your fondest memory of David?
What’s a lesson you learned from David?
Share a story where David's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with David you’ll never forget.
How did David make you smile?