Dr. Mark Rollo, 72, pro-life advocate

FITCHBURG – A leading pro-life advocate, Dr. Mark Joseph Rollo, 72, died Aug. 19, with his wife, Annette Claire (Gemme) Rollo, by his side, after they celebrated their 49 years of marriage.
As a board member of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, he fought for an end to abortion and was overjoyed when the Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade decision in June. He also fought against physician-assisted suicide.
“Without Mark I have no doubt assisted-suicide would have swept into Massachusetts,” commented Dr. John Howland, who worked with him to prevent its legalization. “Mark was such a wonderfully down-to-earth guy – honest, funny, no nonsense. But above all I admired Mark for his strong faith, love for Christ and his Church.”
Dr. Howland, a family physician in Southbridge and member of St. John Paul II Parish there, said he worked with Dr. Rollo, Dr. Paul A. Carpentier, and others in 2007 to start the Worcester Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, which is now defunct.
Dr. Carpentier said that last year he, Dr. Rollo, Dr. Rollo’s nurse Barbara Meier, and Dr. Joseph Stanford published a medical paper on “our 25 years of treating couples who had infertility, utilizing state-of-the-art NaProTECHNOLOGY,” which reduces prematurity fivefold, heals the body and accomplishes live births at least as well as in vitro fertilization. Dr. Carpentier formerly had a practice in Gardner and is now a women’s health and fertility specialist for Catholic Health on Long Island.
Dr. Rollo kept up his pro-life leadership efforts after retirement, “demonstrating the impropriety of the dual cultural tragedies – abortion and assisted suicide,” Dr. Carpentier commented.
“His witness was a kind and powerful example of Christ’s healing work in our communities,” he said.”
Kristine Correira, a physician assistant and a member of Christ the King Parish in Worcester, said Dr. Rollo was a great mentor for her in advocacy work. They lobbied against physician assisted suicide, and combined efforts for radio shows and presentations.
“He was a quiet, unassuming warrior for life,” said Sandra Kucharski, a retired nurse and a pro-life advocate from Sacred Heart-St. Catherine of Sweden Parish in Worcester. ”
He educated people working in crisis pregnancy centers, and one of his most significant contributions in opposing assisted suicide was organizing doctors to lobby legislators and participate in press conferences, she said.
Dr. Rollo was key in making sure drugs for assisted suicide were not available in Massachusetts, said Barbara L. Lyons, of Wisconsin, deputy coalitions director of the Patients’ Rights Action Fund.
“He was an inspiration to us,” she said.
In 2004 the Worcester Diocese honored Dr. Rollo with the Mother Teresa Pro-Life Award and in 2016 he received the Life Recognition Award from the Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center in Fitchburg.
He hosted the radio show “First Do No Harm” on WQPH, presenting medical ethics from a Catholic perspective. His Catholic faith guided him in all his endeavors. His favorite Scripture verse was, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6).
Dr. Rollo was born March 13, 1950, in Boston. He graduated from the pre-med program at the College of the Holy Cross in 1972, got his master’s degree in education in 1973 from UMass-Amherst and worked with children with behavioral issues at Spaulding Youth Center in New Hampshire.
He earned his master’s degree in social work in 1976 from Boston College and worked with people struggling with mental illness at Northampton State Hospital.
At Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, he was enrolled in the Air Force Health Profession Scholarship Program.
After attaining his doctor of medicine degree in 1984, he was a physician in Air Force bases in Maryland, Michigan, South Korea, and New York.
In 1991 his family settled in Fitchburg, where he was a family physician at Fitchburg Family Practice until 1994. Then he transitioned to Fallon/Reliant Medical Group where he served until retirement in March 2020.
He enjoyed watching New England Sports teams, especially the Boston Red Sox, playing guitar and piano, tending his garden and being with his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Annette, and their three children who followed in his footsteps with healthcare careers; Dorothy Rollo, RN, of Fitchburg; Quin Rollo, LMHC, and his wife, Megan, of Fitchburg; and Madeline Doyle, DPT, and her husband, Derek, of South Kingstown, Rhode Island; grandchildren Cedrick, Raquel, Haeley, Elijah, Gianna, Delina, Marielle, Timothy, and Aila, and great-grandchildren Juliette, Rowen, and a baby boy on the way.
Dr. Rollo is survived by siblings John Rollo and his wife, Anne, of Deperes, Missouri; Frank Rollo and his wife, Stephanie, of Queensbury, New York; James Rollo and his wife, Rhonda, of Norfolk, Virginia; Paul Rollo and his wife, Margaret, of Leicester; and Leslie Ann Capoccia and her husband, Jerome, of Newport, Rhode Island.
He is predeceased by his parents, Quintino and Claire (LaFray) Rollo, and his infant son Timothy.
Memorial contributions may be made to Massachusetts Citizens for Life, 529 Main St., Boston, MA 02129; Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center, 515 Main St. #1000, Fitchburg, MA 01420; or St. Anthony of Padua Church, 84 Salem St., Fitchburg, MA 01420.
Calling hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Isabelle & Anderson Funeral Home, 316 Clarendon St. Funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Anthony of Padua Church. Burial will follow in St. Bernard Cemetery.

PHOTO: Dr. Rollo places roses on his mother's grave after the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. His mother was a pro-life advocate.