Extracted from The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
Friday, June 3, 2016

Dr. J. Frazer Gaar

Dr. Joseph Frazer Gaar, Sr., passed away in the loving arms of family on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at Baton Rouge General Hospital following a short illness. He was 77 years old.

Dr. Gaar was born and raised in Shreveport, LA where he attended Byrd High School and was a member of the ROTC. After graduating from Northeastern University in Monroe, LA, he worked as a Pharmacist like his father and brother before him before being accepted into LSU Medical School in New Orleans, where he graduated in 1966. Between 1967 and 1969, he was a captain in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado where he served as a flight surgeon with the 20th Helicopter Aviation Battalion and the 5th Infantry (Mechanized) Division, also known as the “Red Diamond.” Upon his honorable discharge from the Army, he returned to Shreveport to finish his Orthopedic residency at Confederate Memorial Hospital and Shriner's Children's Hospital. In 1973, he joined the Opelousas Orthopedic Clinic, where he specialized in Sports medicine. He organized and performed all of the local high school football physicals and later founded the Opelousas Sports Medicine Clinic. Dr. Gaar was the first physician to introduce the Arthroscopic knee surgery procedure in the area. He was a founding member of the Acadiana Orthopedic Society, one of the owners of the Old St. Landry Clinic, and one of the founders that built Doctors Hospital of Opelousas, where he later instituted the Bone Bank. He was also a member of the Herodicus Society, the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine, and the International Arthroscopy Association. He held clinics as a professor in the department of Orthopedics at LSU school of Medicine in New Orleans, and worked at Charity Hospital in Lafayette where he supervised the training of young orthopedic interns. Dr. Gaar retired from performing surgery in 2002, but continued to practice at his clinic in Opelousas until the time of his death. He was truly a pioneer in his field, as well as a mentor to numerous young doctors and a lifelong friend to his peers in the medical community.

In his private life, he was an avid LSU Football fan and TAF supporter who enjoyed spending weekends at the camp with his sons, grandsons, and friends watching LSU football, hunting, eating, drinking and sharing stories. His hobbies included attending football games at his beloved Tiger Stadium, fishing, golfing, pigeon shooting, and especially hunting. Dr. Gaar was a faithful and good-hearted friend who always made time to listen. He was a loving father who encouraged his children to succeed and was extremely proud of his family and their achievements.

He is survived by his wife and the mother of his four children, Sybil Ann Sisco Gaar of Lafayette, whom he met in 1955 at Byrd High School in Shreveport. While still in Pharmacy School in 1958, they eloped and started a family. He is also survived by his four children, Joseph Frazer Gaar, Jr and wife April, Dr. W. Michael Gaar and wife Janet, Valerie Ferrante Moore and husband Tony (all of Lafayette), and Jill Gaar Gray and husband Dr. Brent Gray of College Station, Texas as well as his fourteen grandchildren: Zack, Rachael, Christian, Rebecca, Lauren, William, Kate, Cassidy, Dakota, Matthew, Ashlyn, Henry, Ava and Annelise; his only brother Kermit Albert Gaar Jr., Ph. D., his wife Shirley, and their children of South Carolina; his sisters-in-law Connie Sisco and Wanda Sisco Schultz of Houston, Texas; Margaret Lucille Watson, step-children Brandy, Allison and Joey, and 5 step-grandchildren of Baton Rouge; as well as and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father Kermit Albert Gaar, Sr. and his mother Franceil Frazer Gaar, both of Shreveport.

The family would like to extend their sincerest gratitude to the doctors, nurses and staff at Baton Rouge General Medical Center, the numerous friends and extended family for their support and care during his illness, as well as his devout nurse of 30 years, Kathy Quirk. Dr. Gaar's quiet nature, dry sense of humor, honest compassion, and love for his friends and family will be deeply missed. He is now at peace in Our Lords hands. The family will honor Dr. Frazer Gaar with a celebration of his life on July 28, 2016 (details TBA).

In lieu of flowers, a memorial contribution can be made in Dr. Gaar's honor to his favorite charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at P.O. Box 1000 Dept. 142 Memphis, TN 38148-0142. Memorial and Honor gift forms are also available online at www.stjude.org.