Dr. David Joseph Gatti

Dr. David Joseph Gatti, 84, of Columbia, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 12, 2023. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at 2:00 pm at The Basilica of St. Peter. Dr. Gatti will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Dr. Gatti was born on August 19, 1939, in Brooklyn, NY. He played football for William & Mary, where he met one of his two great-loves, Michael Anslem Hogan. They married in 1964. He graduated from New York Medical College in 1966 and served in Vietnam, where he earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He continued his career in the Army Reserves until 1988. In 1974, he moved to Columbia and joined Palmetto Surgical Associates as a vascular surgeon where he worked until his retirement from surgery in 2008. During his medical career, Dr. Gatti was the President of the SC Surgical Society, the Southern Society of Clinical Surgeons, SC Vascular Society, and the Chief of Staff of Baptist Medical Center. After Michael’s passing, Dave met and married Etta Cornelia Harper Parker (Connie) and they began their second acts together. He loved dancing, old cars, and toy trains. He was a founder and life-long member of the SC Military History Society and the SC Military Miniature Society. He was a collector at heart and built an impressive collection of military memorabilia. In retirement, he turned his focus back to art and took great pride in creating a new Christmas scene each year. Dr. Gatti is survived by his loving wife of ten years, Connie Parker Gatti; his daughters, Gina Gatti Boulware (Bret), Evan Gatti (Todd Nicolet); and Amanda Horton (Rich). He is also survived by his brother, Paul McGraw; his sister-in-law, Kathleen H. Gatti; nephew, Joseph D. Gatti; and grandchildren, Royton Elizabeth Boulware; Foster Joseph Nicolet; Jack Parker Pierstorff; Zerick Alexander Pierstorff; Anna Kate Horton; and Lucas Ingram Horton. Dr. Gatti was preceded in death by his first wife, Michael Hogan Gatti, and his brother, Joseph Thomas Gatti. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a gift in Dr. Gatti’s memory to either the Building Funds of Union United Methodist Church in Irmo or the Basilica of St. Peters in downtown Columbia.