Dr. Jerry P. Shank, a beloved primary care veterinarian in South Florida and the father of ACCC’s Founder and President Dr. Stephanie Correa, passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 15, 2023. He was 79. Dr. Correa credits her father with inspiring her to pursue veterinary medicine as a career and is grateful for the chance to continue his legacy through the expert cancer treatment she and her team of specialists deliver to pets every day.
Dr. Shank was raised in Ashland, Ohio on a dairy farm, where his love for animals was sparked. While attending Hayesville High School, he developed the math curriculum and added higher-level math classes for himself and his classmates, which allowed students to gain access to professional schools in the STEM fields. He married his high school sweetheart, Connie Crone. They moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he completed his undergraduate and veterinary studies at The Ohio State University. He began his career as an associate veterinarian at a Cincinnati animal hospital.
In 1972, after spending a spring break in Florida, the young couple decided to move to Fort Lauderdale, where Dr. Shank’s professional career flourished with the opening of Shank Animal Hospital, which he operated for more than 40 years.
Throughout his career, he contributed extensively to the profession. He established the South Florida Academy of Veterinary Medicine to provide continuing education for his colleagues. He also served on the board and as president of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association. In 2014, Dr. Shank was honored with the FVMA Distinguished Service Award for exceptional achievements and contributions toward the advancement of veterinary medicine and the veterinary profession. In 2019, Dr. Shank was honored again with the FVMA Lifetime Achievement Award given in appreciation of his extraordinary devotion to the principles and ideals of the veterinary profession.
A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, he will always be remembered for his kind and warm heart, and his devotion to his family.
“Every Saturday growing up I would help my dad at his clinic. I remember how he traveled from exam room to exam room, handing out coffee, healing animals, and connecting with the people. He cared for the owners as much as he cared for their animals — he knew their families when babies were born, when they lost a job, when their kids started college. It was on one of those busy Saturdays that I realized that veterinarians are healers of the soul–doing soulful work. I realized then that being in the field was in my DNA and I had to follow in my dad’s footsteps.”
– Dr. Stephanie Correa