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ROMERO -- John Romero, M.D., died at home in Albuquerque, NM, February 24, 2007 following a fierce but brief battle with cancer. He was 64. Dr. Romero loved life and lived it like a warrior, always taking on new challenges and enthusiastically pursuing all types of sports. He was an expert mountaineer and private pilot. When cancer hindered his mobility, despite the illness he took up horseback riding. He also was an accomplished academic. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Dr. Romero earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Long Beach State University of California and a Master's Degree in molecular biochemistry from the University of California at Davis. During the 1980s, Dr. Romero taught pre-med courses and related sciences at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Eventually Dr. Romero earned an M.D. from Boston University, after which he settled on a decades-long career as an emergency room physician. Dr. Romero began his ER career working in one of California's most notorious trauma centers, the ER in South Central L.A.'s King-Drew Medical Center; where at the time, the U.S. military would send doctors to learn combat medicine. He worked in the Los Angeles-area trauma center through the 1992 riots and shortly thereafter began working in various community hospitals throughout the state of California and his native state of New Mexico. Most recently, he worked in a Roswell, NM emergency room. Above all else, Dr. Romero was a devoted family man. He adored his two daughters, despite the trauma and drama he endured single-parenting them through their teenage years. He leaves behind many beloved family members and friends. He is survived by Dr. Joan Lewis; daughters, Mary Anne and Susan; son-in-law, Dennis Carr; stepson, Brian Lewis; daughter-in-law, Donett; and granddaughter, Shyla; sister, Monica Taylor; brother, Michael Romero; four nieces; one nephew; and many cousins. A celebration of Dr. Romero's life will take place June 9 and 10, 2007 in Albuquerque, NM. For details, please contact the Riverside Funeral Home.
        Published on: Sun April 29, 2007