Dr. Fred T. Nobrega, died on May 11, 2025, at home. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, May 15, 2025, at Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist with the Rev. Msgr. Gerald Mahon officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the Mass. Dr. Nobrega is survived by his wife Eileen and three sons Thomas (Kathleen), John (Patricia) and Paul and his three grandchildren Michael, Mary Catherine and Elisabeth Therese.
He was born of immigrant parents (Ferdinand Nobrega and Mary Ellen Fitzgerald-Bowes) on May 11, 1935, in Kansas City, Missouri where he earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry cum laude at Rockhurst University. He received his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center, and a master’s degree in public health (MPH) from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Following internship at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, KS he entered residency in internal medicine at Mayo Clinic in 1961, but his residency was interrupted by a call to service in the early days of the Vietnam War.
He volunteered for the Naval School of Aviation Medicine in Pensacola, Florida where he learned to fly and underwent survival training. He was assigned to the Navy’s Aerospace Crew Laboratory in Philadelphia where he worked on the early days of the Apollo Project and from which he received a letter of commendation. Following his active duty, he returned to Mayo to complete residency in internal medicine and preventive medicine. He remained in the Naval Reserves for 30 years, became the commanding officer of Mayo’s reserve unit and advanced to the rank of Captain.
After obtaining his MPH he was appointed by Dr. Leonard Kurland as a Research Associate during the initial development and funding for the Rochester/Olmsted County Epidemiological Project. These research efforts were designed to report on the natural history of diseases as seen over many years in the Olmsted community. He was the author or co-author of several early papers published under the project.
Following completion of residency training he was asked to become the first Director of Mayo’s Health Care Studies Unit where his investigations comprised studies on the access, cost and quality of healthcare services and the initial assessment of the evolving Mayo Outreach Program. One of his many publications entitled “Hospital Use in a Fee for Service System” first demonstrated the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system in Rochester.
He was a member of the Division of Preventive Medicine where he practiced general internal medicine and was an aviation medical examiner. Active in various professional organizations, he was the specialty delegate for Preventive Medicine in the AMA House of Delegates and served on the AMA CPT Advisory Committee for 20 years. He was a regent of the American College of Preventive Medicine and Minnesota Chapter of the American College of Physicians. He chaired the AMA Preventive Medicine Residency Review Committee and was a specialist site visitor for the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. He was a long-standing member of the Minnesota Medical Association, served on several of its committees, was a regular state delegate and served as president of the Zumbro Valley Medical Society (ZVMS).
He was a consultant to the National Leadership Commission on Health Care and an advisor to the US Health and Human Services Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the American College of Preventive Medicine, the Outstanding Service Award from the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association, recognized in Who’s Who in America, received the ZVMS Leadership Award on several occasions and its Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also a recipient of the Community Service award from the Olmsted County Health Department for his leadership in the passage of Olmsted County’s Smoke Free Restaurant and Bar Ordinances and Minnesota’s Freedom to Breathe Act. He also received the Community Service and Presidential Awards from the Minnesota Medical Association.
Following retirement, he served as Executive Director of the Zumbro Valley Medical Society whose commitments were to environmental issues such as advocacy for clean air and water. He was active politically and served as campaign chair for the initial election and reelection of state Senator Carla Nelson. He was Vice Chair of the Board of Clearway Minnesota, a member of the Olmsted County Health Advisory Committee, was an election judge and held membership in the Downtown Rotary Club, the American Legion (William T. McCoy Post 92), was a monthly reader at the St. Marys Hospital Chapel and served in the choir at the Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
He cherished his wife Eileen for maintaining her enduring love, devotion, and support of him throughout their marriage and especially in his closing years of life.
Some of his greatest joy in life however was watching his sons’ involvement in music (piano), acting and high school sports especially track and cross country. Weekends with his wife and family were spent boating, swimming and waterskiing. Family vacations included road trips across the country, including both coasts and visits overseas to Europe especially to his ancestral homes in Portugal and Ireland. In ultimate satisfaction, two of his sons followed his career in medicine and the third became a professional actor.
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