Thomas Lee Nigro M.D.

Thomas Lee Nigro died peacefully on September 15 at 80 years of age. Lee was a physician born in Rochester, Minnesota to Joseph Albert Nigro MD, and Catherine Ivel Nigro, and moved following his father’s surgical residency at the Mayo Clinic to Kansas City.

He attended Pembroke Country Day School (now Pembroke Hill), where he was the team captain of the football team and graduated in 1963. He enrolled at the University of Arizona, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He transferred to the University of Missouri, Kansas City, to continue his pre-med education and then entered the first class of the newly established School of Medicine. He was accepted and served as a resident in general surgery at Truman Medical Center, and accepted a sabbatical for a position in his fourth year at the Mayo Clinic. He was elected president of the residency staff his chief year.

During his residency, he traveled to the Cleveland Clinic, where he learned how to perform a percutaneous endoscopic gastronomy, a feeding tube from its inventor, Jeffrey Ponsky, MD. He was the first to perform this non-invasive procedure in Kansas City that previously required surgery. He was also one of the first surgeons in Kansas City to perform the laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder.

Lee was the chairman of the surgery department at St. Joseph Health Center in 1994-1995 and Vice Chairman of the Trauma Department at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. He was a Clinical Assistant 2015-2017. He was a professor of surgery at both the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

Lee was predeceased by his mother, father, and older brother Joseph Albert Nigro, Jr., Jay (Linda). Surviving, is his wife Laura Lee Nigro, his children, step-children, their families and his siblings: Lorie Francis Nigro (Cathy) and Mary Gail Nigro Reardon (Daniel) Also surviving is his former wife and the mother of their four children, Mary Bet Brown; son Thomas Lee Nigro, Jr. (Laura), Dr. Michael Andrew (Andy) Nigro (Nikkie), Mary Kristen Weidman (Spencer) and Aimee Sheehan (Brenden); step-children Manda Allie Simon (Scott), Joshua Roy Thye (Caitlan), and Molly Allison Thye. He had fourteen grandchildren and step-grandchildren, as well as multiple nieces and nephews and their families.

He also leaves his loving dogs Winston II, and Mahomes, who were predeceased by Winston I, Pico, and Maverick the cat. Lee loved attending his children’s sporting events and was proud of their many accomplishments. His favorite quotes were “Imagine living your life so carefully that there is no sign of living at all” and “You can’t have a perfect day without doing something for someone who can’t pay you back.”

A Visitation will take place from 9:15am to 10:00am followed by a Memorial Mass at 10:00am on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at the Church of the Ascension, 9510 West 127th Street, Overland Park, KS 66213. Lee requested that everyone wear bright, colorful clothing... No dark suits, no ties & no crying.

The family suggests contributions to the church or to Harbor Hospice.