Daniel "Dan" Gadzala

Dr. Daniel Edward Gadzala, loving husband and father, died peacefully on Sunday, February 5, 2023, at the age of 60.

Dan was born November 13, 1962, in Ohio, to Jane Agnes (Swistara) and Antoni Edward Gadzala. He spent his early years in Suffern, New York, and moved to Oakville, Ontario, at age 10. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in 1985 and a Master of Science in Forensic Science from the University of Alabama in Birmingham in 1987. Dan married Kathy Donnell on July 7, 1990, in Bellwood, Alabama. They raised two children, Danielle and DeAnna, in Enterprise, where Dan maintained a successful practice and was an active member of the medical and local community.

Dan earned his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1991, with residency training at the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans, LA, and earned American Board Certification in General Surgery. He maintained a private practice in his hometown and concluded his career proudly serving veterans, working for the Veterans Evaluation Services.

Dan was a Charter Member of the Sunrise Rotary Club and a Fellow at the American College of Surgeons and the Southeastern Surgical Congress. Dan served as a Board Member of the Ochsner Medical Foundation and was appointed as a Cancer Liaison Physician for the American College of Surgeons at the Commission on Cancer. He was appointed to the Board of Directors at the Coffee County Chapter of the American Red Cross and served as President of the Coffee County Medical Society.

Dan received the Physician’s Recognition Award from the American Medical Association, the Schwartz Award for Excellence in Medical-Legal Writing from the American College of Legal Medicine and was recognized as Outstanding Fellow in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. He co-authored the Handbook of Drug Analysis: Applications in Forensic and Clinical Laboratories. Most importantly, Dan was known to his colleagues and patients as a compassionate, caring physician with an impeccable bedside manner. When not working, Dan enjoyed his family, traveling, home and nature. Dan traveled the world with his family visiting places such as Europe, the Galapagos Islands, Peru, Alaska, Hawaii, and Jamaica. Dan was known for his love of music, technology, and animals. He retained dual citizenship and spoke gratefully of having a “fatherland” and a “motherland.”

Cherishing his memory are his wife Kathy of Enterprise; two children, Danielle of DeLand, FL, and DeAnna of Orlando, FL; parents, Jane Agnes and Antoni Edward Gadzala of Toronto, Canada; one sister, Mary Anne Gadzala of Toronto, Canada; one brother, Dave Gadzala of Toronto, Canada; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Sonja and Mac Donnell of Bellwood, AL; one sister-in law, Kim (Clark) Archer of Panama City, FL; one brother-in-law, Mac Wayne Donnell of Bellwood, AL; and four nephews and three nieces.

A memorial celebrating Dan’s life will be held on Friday, February 10, at Sorrells Funeral Home in Enterprise. The family will receive visitors at 1:00 p.m. with the service beginning at 2:00 p.m.

SOS Animal Shelter will gratefully accept donations in Dan’s memory. Donations may be mailed to 25944 Highway 134 East, Enterprise, Alabama 36330.