According to FAA records, Siegel was the registered owner of the aircraft, described as a fixed-wing, single-engine Beechcraft V-35. An FAA team is investigating what caused the crash and it will hand all information over to the NTSB.
It was largely through the perseverance, commitment and compassion of Dr. Siegel that Apache Junction has the hospital that this community pursued for more than 30 years.
Siegel and his monumental contribution to this community was recognized in August, 2010, when he was presented with the “Citizen of the Year” award by the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon News.
Siegel said that he was “honored and humbled,” and so surprised that he was “hopelessly speechless” upon acceptance.
He stated that the award was one that he would hold “close to his heart,” along with a father-son trophy that he and his dad had once received.
Since 1993, Dr. Siegel provided cardiac services to patients in the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon area, through his Advanced Cardiac Specialists (ACS).
In 1998, now-Mayor John Insalaco began discussing the need for a hospital in this area with Siegel. According to the mayor, “That was when it began and Dr. Siegel stuck with it through all those years, through many roadblocks. I always had faith in him and he had faith in the city that the hospital would be built.”
On February 9, 2010, the perseverance of all involved came to fruition when the Arizona Regional Medical Center-Apache Junction (ARMC-AJ) opened at 2050 W. Southern Ave., just west of the intersection of Ironwood Drive and Southern Avenue. Siegel gutted his ACS office facility and used that as the shell of the new hospital.
The 30-bed, general acute care facility has critical care beds, operating rooms and cardiac catheterization suites, and a 24-hour full-service emergency room. There are 150 physicians with various certifications on the hospital’s medical staff.
Mayor Insalaco described Siegel as a man “with a warm heart who really cared about people.”
According to the family, a funeral service was planned for Siegel at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Los Angeles, CA with a succeeding memorial service to be held in Arizona on Thursday evening, May 24, at 7 p.m. at a yet-to-be-named location.
The family has asked that, in lieu of gifts or flowers, that donations can be made to The ARMC Research Foundation, or to the Robert M. Siegel
Legacy Fund for The Daughters. Both accounts are set up at Northern Trust Bank, 1525 S. Greenfield Rd., Mesa and the contact person there is Marie Fotino (480-324-5115).
Watch www.myarmc.com for further details on the memorial service including the site chosen.
Written by Ed Barker & Betty Swanson
