Anthony Adducci, 69, medical entrepreneur, co-founder of Cardiac Pacemakers Inc.
Shrike!
Anthony Adducci, medical entrepreneur
BY JIM MCCARTNEY
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/15608164.htm
Medical device industry pioneer Anthony Adducci died last week at his
home in Scottsdale, Ariz., after battling an illness similar to Lou
Gehrig's disease.
Adducci, who was 69, worked at Medtronic Inc. during its early years
and was a co-founder of Cardiac Pacemakers Inc., the predecessor to
Guidant Corp., which was bought earlier this year for $27 billion by
Boston Scientific Corp.
Adducci joined Medtronic, the huge medical device company now based in
Fridley, shortly after graduating in 1959 from St. Mary's University
in Winona. Adducci's sales expertise — he was a product manager who
taught doctors how to implant Medtronic pacemakers — was instrumental
in the early success of Cardiac Pacemakers, said Manny Villafana, who
founded the company in 1972 with Adducci and two other men.
Cardiac Pacemakers was sold to Eli Lilly in 1978, and Adducci stayed
on for three years, according to one of his sons, Michael Adducci of
Woodbury.
In the early 1980s, Adduci went into the venture capital business. He
was an investor and founding director in such medical device companies
as Deltec in Arden Hills, Medical Graphics in Vadnais Heights and
Dimensional Medicine in Minnetonka, all of which have been sold to
other companies. He was also a founding director of Check Technology
of Minnetonka, now known as Delphax.
More recently, Adducci had served as a director of North American
Banking Co. of Roseville, where his son Mike works as a lender, and as
a director of a small Minneapolis design firm called Capsule Design,
which was co-founded by another son, Brian Adducci.
Until he suffered the symptoms of multi-focal motor neuropathy,
Adducci enjoyed an active retirement, Mike Adduci said. For instance,
Adducci was trained in both tae kwon do and aikido and taught martial
arts classes.
Adducci also was a well-known philanthropist, Villafana said.
"Tony was a generous and gracious man," Villafana said. "I remember
when we were both being approached to do charity work. He told me,
'Manny, you and I have been put on this Earth to work. Work hard, make
money and give them the money.' "
He also was active in the Catholic faith as a longtime trustee of St.
Mary's University, a northern lieutenant in the Equestrian Order of
the Holy Sepulchre and a knight of the Order of Malta.
Adducci split his time between his homes in Scottsdale and in Shoreview.
Besides his sons Michael (Deb) and Brian (Allison), Adducci is
survived by his wife, Sandy; daughter Alicia; siblings Annette, Mickey
and Tom; and five grandchildren.
Visitation will start at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Odilia Catholic
Church, 3495 N. Victoria St., Shoreview, with services starting at 11 a.m.
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Wanna buy some mandies, Bob?