DR. FRANK TROTTA
EARLY RESIDENTS DIVISION 2023
Dr. Frank Trotta was a great Vistan whose wife Mary and six children all played a role in the city’s
history. Dr. Trotta moved to Vista in 1961 with his young family when Tri-City Hospital opened and he
was the one and only cardiologist at the brand new medical center. He chose Vista as his home and
lived here until his untimely death from cancer in 1990 at age 62. His wife Mary Trotta still lives in Vista where she has been an active member of the community, in part by raising six children, all of them Vista High School graduates.
Frank Trotta was beloved by his patients for his ability to listen and treat them with “old school” personal touch while always remaining current with the latest developments in medical science. Rather than direct his children to follow in his footsteps into medicine, Trotta encouraged them to find their own way, and each of those Vista natives went on to professional careers after excelling in academics and athletics at Beaumont Elementary School, Lincoln Junior High School and Vista High School: Mike (born in 1960), Dave (1961), Tom (1963), Dan (1964), Pete (1960) and Nancy (1970).
Likewise, he encouraged his wife Mary to pursue her own interests, and Mary has been a pillar of the community, serving on the Palomar College board of trustees, PTA president at Vista High, grief counselor at St. Francis Catholic Church, and volunteering as a tutor to underserved elementary school students, among other activities.
Dr. Trotta was born on December 30, 1927, in Yonkers, New York. After attending Fordham University, he earned his M.D. at the State University of New York. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958 and moved to California to join the staff at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla before joining the staff at Tri-City.