John Matthew Falletta

John Matthew Falletta, 84, a long time professor and professor emeritus of pediatrics at Duke, died unexpectedly at his home on January 31, 2025.

John will be remembered by his family, friends, and patients as a kind, compassionate man; someone who was able to focus on anyone he encountered who was in need of his help.. He cared deeply for his patients and their families, and worked hard to insure that his young cancer and hematology patients received the best care.

John was an excellent student, athlete, and an accomplished pianist during his high school years. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Kansas where he was president of his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He married Carolyn Ontjes after his first year in KU medical school where he later earned his MD. Two years at the CDC took them to Houston where he did research into childhood leukemia clusters. That work intensified into a life long interest in pediatric oncology. He remained at Baylor to complete his training and then spent several years on the pediatric faculty there. Duke recruited him to rebuild the pediatric hematology/oncology program in Durham in 1976. John and Carolyn moved with their two small children to Chapel Hill.

At Duke, John built his division from one full time physician, a nurse practitioner, and a secretary into a thriving practice focused on patient care, research, and an advanced training program for young doctors. His Fellows all praise him for teaching them the value of genuinely caring for individual patients and their families, and relating to them in a way that made a huge difference in the course of illness.

Early on, John saw a need for a Ronald McDonald House for his patients and their families. With the help of Duke, a wonderful board of patients’ parents, and others the first RMC House in the area opened in 1980. He maintained his dedication to the Ronald House until the end of his life, and spent many years on both the local board and the international McDonalds Charities Board in Chicago. He loved working with people from the business world, where he was affectionately known as “Doc”. He consulted on all things medical (both personal and RMC related) with many of the RMC friends he made.

After more than twenty years at Duke, John turned his attention to leading the Institutional Review Board for all human research at Duke. As the need increased he built a single review board into multiple boards that were responsible reviewing hundreds of research projects over the years. He was active in helping set up other IRB programs as far away as China.

He retired from Duke in 2015, and concentrated on his love of gardening and travel. Over the years he and Carolyn traveled extensively, enjoyed seeking out new restaurants, and adding to their eclectic art collection. After moving to the Cedars Retirement community, John enjoyed meeting a whole new circle of friends and loved singing with the Cedars Singers.

In addition to his wife, John leaves behind two grown children; a daughter Liz Falletta (with husband Thurman Grant) and son, Matt Falletta, both of Los Angeles. In addition, he leaves a brother in law, (Sam Ontjes, with wife Judy Ontjes, and their grown children and grandchildren); the grown children and grandchildren of his other brother in law, David Ontjes (deceased); and three grown children of his sister, Norma Berry (deceased).

A memorial service will be held at 2PM on Saturday, February 8 at University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill. 

Memorial gifts may be made to Ronald McDonald House, 506 Alexander Drive, Durham ,NC 27705.