DR. RODOLFO CARTAGENA

WISE, VA – Dr. Rodolfo Cartagena, 82, died Friday, September 27, 2024, at Norton Community Hospital.

Born February 8, 1942, in Manila, Philippines, Dr. Cartagena attended the University of Santo Thomas, also in Manila, where he studied liberal arts and sciences. He received an MD degree from the University of Santo Thomas in 1967. In 1970, Dr. Cartagena moved to San Francisco, Ca. along with his wife and three children preparing for and passing the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in Medical Sciences (FMGEMS). In 1976 Dr. Cartagena became a US citizen. After five months of private practice in Clarksburg, W. Va., he was recruited to Wise, Va. by the Dickenson-Wise Medical Group. Dr. Cartagena practiced in Wise from 1976 until 1980. He then cofounded Norwise, OB/GYN. He was a former chief of Residency at St. Mary’s Hospital and started the OB/GYN Department at the hospital. Dr. Cartagena was currently owner/physician practicing at the Southwest Women’s Health Services of Virginia, Appalachia, Va.

He was a devout Catholic and a member of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Norton.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Teresita Cartagena.

He is survived by two sons, Romeo Cartagena of Johnson City, TN and Rommel Cartagena of Wise, Va.; a daughter, Julieta Cartagena and her husband Charles Huff of Wise, Va; grandchildren, Aja Cartagena, Tere Ashworth and her husband Brian, Amanda Vega and her husband José, Abbey Cartagena, Isaac Cartagena, A.J. Collins and his wife Nicole, Rudy Collins and Alex Huff; great grandchildren, Alley, Ethan, Eros, Kamila, Eva, Aubrei, Jaxon, Caleigha, Scarlett; and Kingston; a sister, Romona Malanay Cunanan; a brother, Regelio Malanay; a host of nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 5-9 pm Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at Hagy & Fawbush Funeral Home in Norton. Mass of the Resurrection will be conducted at 11 am Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Norton with Father Ritchie Sarabia as celebrant. Burial will follow in the Powell Valley Memorial Gardens, Big Stone Gap, Va.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, 1009 Virginia Ave. NW, Norton, Va. 24273, in memory of Rodolfo Cartagena.

Hagy & Fawbush Funeral Home on Norton is serving the Cartagena family.