Retired U.S. Army Reserve Major General Robert J. Kasulke, M.D.

Major General Robert J. Kasulke, M.D.

Retired United States Army Reserve Major General Robert J. Kasulke, M.D., of Watertown, NY, died unexpectedly Nov. 13, 2023, at Upstate University Hospital, Syracuse, NY.

Visitation will be held Friday, Nov. 17, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Hart & Bruce Funeral Home, 117 North Massey St., Watertown. A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. Burial with military honors will take place in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY on Monday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m.

He was born June 12, 1949, in Queens, NY, the son of Francis and Florence (Polito) Kasulke.  He graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School, Jamaica, NY, in 1967. He received his Bachelor's of Science in Biology from Fordham University in 1971. He graduated from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University College of Medicine in 1975. Dr. Kasulke received his Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 1996 and was a 1999 graduate of the United States Army War College.

On May 3, 1975, at the Fordham University Chapel, he married Catherine O’Connell. The couple resided in the Bronx where Dr. Kasulke completed his residency in general surgery at Montefiore Health and Hospital Center. The couple then moved to Columbia, MO, where he completed his fellowship in vascular surgery at Columbia Health Science Center. The Kasulkes then moved to Tennessee, where he worked as the Director of Surgical Resident’s Research Program and Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at East Tennessee State University Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine from 1981 to 1983. They then moved to Saranac Lake, NY, where Dr. Kasulke practiced with the Saranac Lake Surgical Group from 1983 to 1989. The Kasulkes then moved to Pennsylvania, where he worked at Northeastern Surgical Specialists. 

The Kasulkes moved to Watertown in 1989 and Dr. Kasulke practiced at the House of the Good Samaritan and Mercy Hospital from 1989 until 1991. He was also a member of the Watertown Surgical Group from 1989 to 1991. He also had his own practice, Vein Treatment Center in Watertown, for several years. He also served as the facility medical director at Gouverneur Correctional Facility from 1994 until this year. 

At the time of his death, Dr. Kasulke was medical director of Hospice of Jefferson County, NY, medical director of Jefferson County Public Health Service and Jefferson County Deputy Medical Examiner. 

In addition to his private practice, Dr. Kasulke served in the United States Army Reserve from 1980 to 2012. He held assignments as a general surgeon and chief of surgery and commanded Detachments 1, 2 and 3 of the 310th Field Hospital and the 865th Combat Support Hospital. 

Maj. Gen. Kasulke was appointed as the commander of the 8th Medical Brigade in May, 2001. From March, 2005, through March, 2009, he served as the Deputy Surgeon for Mobilization, Readiness and Reserve Affairs. 

Maj. Gen. Kasulke's last assignment was as the Commander of the Army Reserve Medical Command (AR-MEDCOM), Pinellas Park, FL, where he also served as Commander of the Reserve Component Soldier Medical Support Center.

In June of 2013, Maj. Gen. Kasulke was appointed by the Chief of the Army Reserve (CAR) as an Army Reserve Ambassador (ARA). He was appointed to the Chief of Staff Army Retiree Council in 2017.

He was a member of the Order of Military Medical Merit, a life member of the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) and was elected as national surgeon and later the president of The Inter-Allied Confederation of Medical Reserve Officers (CIOMR).

He served on the boards of several organizations which served the needs of the civilian, military and veteran members of his community.

Dr. Kasulke was a collector of antique toy soldiers, enjoyed woodworking, was an avid reader, collector of model railroads and enjoyed music, traveling and spending time with his grandchildren and watching their sporting events and school activities. He was a member of Watertown Elks Lodge #496 and Italian American Club. 

Through his work with Hospice of Jefferson County, he conducted many “We Honor Veterans” ceremonies, honoring veterans under hospice care. 

He loved to be around people and was very social. Dr. Kasulke never stopped seeking knowledge and finding ways to help his community and those around him. 

Among his survivors are his daughter and son-in-law, Kristen and Eric Hamp, Houghton Lake, MI; son and daughter-in-law, Stephen and Ludmilla Kasulke, Alexandria, VA; three grandchildren, Jacob and Collin Hamp and John Robert Kasulke; twin brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Richard F. and Sarah Kasulke, Geneva, NY; four nephews, Benjamin, Matthew and Thomas Kasulke and Thomas Eckert; niece, Danielle Meyer; a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mary Alice and Harry Arcidiacono, Pompano Beach, FL; and many cousins and friends. 
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Catherine J. Kasulke, on May 5, 2021, and an infant brother, James Kasulke.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Jefferson County 1398 Gotham St., Watertown, NY 13601, and Honor Flight Syracuse, honorflightsyracuse.org/donations/.

Online condolence may be made at www.hartandbrucefh.com

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