After a long and difficult struggle with cancer, Dr. Michael James Larkin of Windemere Drive passed away Saturday morning, November 9, 2013 at Jameson Hospital North. He was 66 years old. He was born May 30, 1947, in Trenton, New Jersey, son of Dr. Michael J. Larkin and Helen Carroll Larkin Sr. He married Gabriela DeBortoli on June 24, 1972 in her hometown of Montebelluna, Treviso, Italy. Dr. Larkin graduated from Cranwell Preparatory School in Lenox, Massachusetts before attending St. Louis University, where he received a bachelor of science in biology. He began medical school in Padova, Italy at the University of Padova and completed his M.D. at Temple School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, in 1977, where he continued with an internship in general surgery. In 1982, he completed his residency in orthopedics at Temple University Hospital and Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children, under the direction of his mentors, Chief Dr. John Lachmann and Dr. Howard Steel. After his residency, he moved to New Castle with his family and joined The New Castle Orthopedic Associates. In 1984, a year later, he became certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. In 2011, he retired from practice and began spending half the year in Montebelluna, Italy. Upon news of his sickness, he returned home to Western Pennsylvania and New Castle for medical treatment. From 1982 to 2011 he served as the doctor for all New Castle High School sports teams, including those coached by Lindy Lauro, and from 1982 to 2000 as the doctor for the Westminster College football team. He was a member of St. Camillus Church. He was a president of the Lawrence County Medical Society Pennsylvania, Interstate Orthopedic Society, and Chief of Staff at Jameson Memorial Hospital, as well as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and member of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Society, and the Eastern Orthopedic Society. In addition to his wife, he is survived by three daughters, Tanya Larkin of Somerville, MA, Karen Larkin of Los Angeles, and Katie Tricot of Greenwich, CT, as well as his son-in-law, Jean-Michel Tricot; his brothers, Timothy Larkin of Loveland, CO, John Larkin of Morrisville, PA, and Robert Brian Larkin of Edinburgh, Scotland; and sister, Kathleen Larkin of Rutland, VT. Dr. Larkin was preceded in death by his parents. Visiting hours will be held Tuesday, November 12, 2013, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the R. Cunningham Funeral Home & Crematory, 2429 Wilmington Road. A procession will leave the funeral home at 9:30 a.m. for a Mass of Catholic Burial at St. Camillus Church. The Reverend Father Martin Bartel of St. Francis Cabrini in Aliquippa, PA will officiate. Donations in honor of Michael Larkin can be sent to The New Castle Basketball Club, George Washington Intermediate School, C/O Joe Anderson, Principal, 101 East Euclid Ave, New Castle, PA 16101. The New Castle Basketball Club supports the lives of promising young basketball players by encouraging their overall health and academic integrity.