Dr. Thomas Sprenger, healer, soldier, community leader in Bradenton dies at 89
Dr. Thomas Robert Sprenger meant many things to the Bradenton community. He was a healer, a soldier and a leader.
And, as Vernon DeSear, executive director of the Manatee Memorial Foundation, put it, he was also a dear friend to many.
Sprenger, who died May 29 at age 89, was Manatee County’s first orthopedic surgeon, arriving in 1961.
“I figured it up one time,’‘ the doctor told the Herald in 1990. “I’ve probably done over 1,000 hip fractures and at least that many arthritic joint procedures. I think I have enjoyed the treatment of patients with arthritis and also fracture care the most. It’s very satisfying to get a patient who’s had a fracture or a bad arthritic hip or knee back on his feet, functioning again. And patients are so appreciative.’‘
He may not have been a native of the Bradenton area, but Sprenger quickly became a high-profile part of the community fabric.
He was one of the founders of Blake Medical Center, where he served as chairman of the board. He also served as chief of staff of Manatee Memorial Hospital and as the Pittsburgh Pirates spring training physician from 1969-1987. He retired from surgical practice in 1998.
“I thought a lot of him. He was a very giving man, and a gifted orthopedic surgeon who took care of so many people in Bradenton,” state Sen. Jim Boyd said. “He was just a wonderful community man who did a lot for others and always had a kind and encouraging word.”
DeSear remembered the doctor for his community involvement and his love of history.
Sprenger served on the Manatee County School Board from 1967 to 1971, including a stint as chairman from 1967 to 1968.
“He was a man of great stature with his military service. He was active in his church and the Hernando de Soto Historical Society,” DeSear said.
Sprenger joined the Hernando de Soto Historical Society in 1969, and over the years served in several capacities, including general chairman, president and as Hernando de Soto.
He was also a founding director of Community Bank of Manatee.
Sprenger had a distinguished military career, starting in 1956 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Indiana Army National Guard. He retired as a brigadier general in the Florida Army National Guard in 1991.
He was branch qualified in infantry and medical branches and completed the Command and General Staff College, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and the Army War College.
“I have sort of a long-term second career in the military,’‘ he told the Herald in 1990, a year before he retired from his military service.
“This is my 34th year in the Army National Guard. In the Army, I don’t do medicine — I command a brigade,’‘ he said.
Gen. Sprenger visited units around the state for up to 100 days a year.
“I enjoy the complete change from medicine. While it’s a very busy thing, you get away. Medicine is a very high-stress field, and this gives me a different perspective. I’m a history buff, too, and I enjoy the way military and history go together,” he said.
He proposed a hearing conservation program for use on the firing ranges in the Florida Army National Guard that was put in use prior to the one instituted in the active army.
He was a member of many medical and surgical associations, including the American College of Surgeons, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, International College of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SICOT). He was a charter member of the Eastern Orthopaedic Association and the Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. He served on many committees of the Florida Orthopaedic Society and was president in 1989-1990 and journal editor 1999-2002.
Dr. Sprenger’s work and outcome studies in fracture treatment and adult reconstructive surgery were documented in published papers.
Sprenger was born in Seymour, Ind., on Aug. 22, 1931. His parents, Robert Daniel and Margaret Myron Sprenger, moved their family to Paintsville, Ky., in 1934 and to Ashland, Ky., in 1936.
He was a 1949 graduate of Ashland High School, attended Marshall University, and received his medical degree in 1956 from Indiana University. That year he married Justine Gambill Stinson in Ashland. They lived in Indianapolis during his first three years of postgraduate training. He continued orthopedic training in New Orleans and Tampa before starting his practice in Bradenton in 1961. Their daughter, Rebecca, was born in Tampa and son, Michael, in Bradenton.
He and Justine became members of Palma Sola Presbyterian Church in February 1962. He served terms as a deacon and an elder. He edited and helped with the layout for publication of the booklet marking the 50th anniversary of Palma Sola Church in 2007.
His hobbies included the violin, photography and military history.
His parents predeceased him as did Justine, his wife of 52 years, and Carole, his wife of eight years.
Survivors include his daughter Rebecca (Mitchel) Belis of Bradenton, son Michael (Lynne) and their children Jacob, Sophia, and Nathan of Valrico, Fla,, nephew Shawn May (Anna Jo) of Ashland, Ky., and niece Kimberly May Vazquez (Ben) of Scotch Plains, N.J.
Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8 and a memorial service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 9, at Palma Sola Presbyterian Church, 6510 3rd Ave. W., Bradenton. A Celebration of Life will be held following the memorial service until 3 p.m. at the Bradenton Country Club, 4646 9th Ave. W., Bradenton. Private family internment will take place on Thursday, June 10, at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.
Instead of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Palma Sola Presbyterian Church, 6510 3rd Ave. W., Bradenton, FL 34209 or Sarasota Orchestra, 709 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236.
The memorial service will be streamed live at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 9 at https://sprenger.tv/DrTomSprenger on Palma Sola Presbyterian Church’s YouTube channel.
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 12:50 PM.
