Loved ones honor slain Laguna Beach doctor for saving lives and inspiring others to do good
Before Dr. Michael Mammone was killed in an inexplicable act of violence, the emergency physician from Laguna Beach saved lives on practically a daily basis and taught many to do the same, friends, relatives and colleagues said during a ceremony Thursday.
Those who knew the doctor described him as a loving father and husband who who spent his life in the service of others. He was riding his bicycle in Dana Point on Feb. 1 when he was rear-ended, authorities say, by the driver of a white Lexus who then, apparently without provocation, stabbed him to death.
For the record:
10:00 a.m. Feb. 17, 2023An earlier version of this story misstated the date of defendant Vanroy Evan Smith’s upcoming hearing. He is scheduled to appear on Wednesdsay, Feb. 22 in department C60 of the Superior Courthouse in Santa Ana.
“It is impossible to make sense of why Mike’s life on Earth was cut short,” Dr. Jennifer Mason, one of Mammone’s classmates at USC Medical School, told well over 200 people gathered to honor his memory at the the grounds of the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach Thursday. “But I know he believed people on this Earth are good, and meant to do good.”
She said Mammone carried himself with an infectious lightness and warmth that brought their classmates together and helped them pull through their studies. Later, his personality would become a fountain of support for fellow front-line healthcare workers battling the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Bill Dodge of Providence Mission Hospital said.
He said Mammone always appeared calm and collected, even in the face of crisis. He seemed unfazed by the immense responsibility of being an emergency room doctor and “almost thrived on it.”
“He had this energy where, here, everyone gets home alive,” Dodge said.
Mammone began his career at San Antonio Regional Medical Center in Upland. During his time there, he trained paramedics and emergency medical technicians on top of his duties in the emergency room, nurse Stephanie Rasmussen said. She added that despite his status and education, he remained approachable and eager to help people learn.
“You could ask him a question without feeling stupid,” she said.
One of the first-responders Mammone trained was her son, Rancho Cucamonga Fire Capt. Steve Rasmussen. He said the slain doctor would come find him every night they worked together to ask about what he was learning.
He is one of many who said they learned how to save people’s lives thanks to Dr. Mammone. Stephanie Rasmussen said she has received a steady stream of messages from those who called him a mentor in the weeks since his death.
“Their words were all the same: ‘He was so good to us. We learned so much from Dr. Mammone. We are so grateful,’” she said Thursday. “In that, his legacy continues.”
He never hesitated to help his friends, neighbor Scott Davis said. He remembered how his son sliced his a foot open while horsing around with friends, but luckily the doctor was nearby to patch him up.
“How was it getting stitches? Were you scared?” Davis recalled asking his son.
“Mike made it fun,” the boy replied. “I’d really like to do it again.”
When he wasn’t treating patients or inspiring his peers and future generations of healthcare professionals, Mammone might be caught making “smoochie smoochie” phone calls to his wife, Julie, said Dr. Larry Potts of San Antonio Regional Medical Center. She loved visiting Laguna Beach, and they moved to the coastal city with with their two sons, Nick and Jack, when a position opened up at Providence Mission Hospital in 2010.
During his time off, Mammone would bring family and friends together with homemade meals, stimulating conversation and silly jokes. He loved going to the ocean and snorkeling or scuba diving with his sons. He and Julie were planning on taking sailing lessons together, as well as a trip to Italy to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
“We were so happy with our lives together ... you had so much left to do,” the slain doctor’s wife said through tears Thursday. “He will not get to see his sons marry. He will not get to hold his grandchildren.”
The driver accused of killing Mammone, Vanroy Evan Smith, 39, of Long Beach, remained in Orange County Sheriff’s custody as of Thursday. Criminal proceedings against him were on hold pending the results of a hearing scheduled Feb. 22 to determine if he is psychologically fit to stand trial.
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