Titusville Physician and Florida Tech Trustee Richard Baney Dies at 89

Richard Neil “Dick” Baney, Sr. died peacefully Sept. 14 at age 89.

Baney left Titusville a long medical legacy and Florida Tech a 34-year record of service on its Board of Trustees. He helped bring Anthony Catanese, now the university’s president emeritus, to Florida Tech. Catanese’s 14 years as president all came during Baney’s board tenure.

“Dick Baney was a pillar of Florida Tech,” Catanese said. “He was always a terrific supporter in the educational mission of Florida Tech and also in fundraising. We will always remember him.”

A career in medicine and the Navy

Baney came from Philadelphia and grew up in Pittsburgh. Georgetown University awarded him a full, four-year scholarship, and he graduated in 1958. He earned his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963, then completed internships at the VA Hospital and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas.

He later served as a U.S. Navy medical officer aboard the submarines USS Andrew Jackson and USS Kamehameha. Baney held “Plank Owner” status on both vessels, an unofficial designation for crew members who served during a newly built vessel’s original commissioning. He remained an active reservist through 1970.

After Baney completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pittsburgh, he and his family arrived in Titusville in the mid-1970s. He served as president of the medical staff at Jess Parish Hospital before moving to Melbourne.

In Melbourne, Baney joined Melbourne Internal Medicine Associates and later helped lead the physician group. Health First purchased MIMA in 2013, and the organization became Health First Medical Group. Baney also served as medical director of what is now Holmes Regional Medical Center.

“Dr. Baney is inextricably part of our history at Health First, and the community is better for having had him in it,” said Terry Forde, Health First’s president and CEO and a Florida Tech trustee.

Baney’s work linked Titusville medicine, regional health care and Florida Tech leadership across decades. His service included patient care, military duty, university governance and fundraising support.