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A plaque memorializing Dr. Mickey DiChiara was unveiled at Pike Internal Medicine on Friday. 

Dichiara founded Pike Internal Medicine in 1985 and served the Pike County community until 2024, when PIM was acquired by Troy Regional Medical Center. Dichiara received his MD degree at the University of Alabama Birmingham’s School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. He passed away on  Aug. 12. 

“This is a very special occasion for us,” Troy Regional Medical Center CEO Rick Smith said. “It’s an opportunity to remember and memorialize Dr. [Mickey] DiChiara. We’re here today to remember him.” 

Family, friends and staff from TRMC and PIM gathered just before noon on Friday as a plaque was unveiled in DiChiara’s memory. 

Troy Mayor Jason Reeves said Dichiara was an important part of the community, not only as a doctor, but as a friend to his patients. 

“There’s a famous quote by Maya Angeleau, ‘People will forget what you said, they’ll forget what you did, but, they’ll never forget how you made them feel,’” Reeves said. “Mickey made people feel good. Not just from the medicine, but from being around him. You could never be around Mickey and not have a positive interaction with him. And, I know that’s what we all miss.”

Dichiara’s oldest son, Neal, spoke on behalf of the family. He said Pike Internal Medicine was the lifelong dream of his father, and he continued to work at the job he loved his entire life. 

“He was passionate about medicine. He loved the traditions here. … Through the years it became a mission,” Neal DiChiara said. “Towards the end, the office became medicine for dad. When mom passed [Dichiara’s wife of 43 years, Cheryl, died Jan. 14, 2021] [Dichiara’s daughter] Mari Lee and the staff helped him through it. They helped him grieve, they got him through that. When he got sick, the office, the staff, got him up and out of bed and moving. And that gave us more weeks and more days with dad. 

“As a family, I want to tell everybody that our prayers were answered in the form of a plan and a person. That plan was with Rick [Smith] and that doctor was Dr. [Richard] Boone. I prayed for that many mornings, that we could find a doctor to take dad’s place, and we’re happy to have him. And now, I’m thankful for a visual reminder of all the good that dad did here.”