Charles "Chuck" Mistretta

January 05, 1941 - June 09, 2026

Obituary

Charles Anthony Mistretta (1941-2026)

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Charles Anthony Mistretta. Chuck was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. His wife and family were always his top priority.

Chuck loved life and his many interests included fishing, golfing, piano, classical music, reading and most of all spending time with family. He loved to travel with Darlene, and they explored the world together. A highlight of each year was an annual trip to the North Woods of Wisconsin with family. A source of joy and pride in his later years was helping to mentor his youngest grandson in basketball. He also loved to host friends and family members on frequent Canadian fishing trips.

Chuck earned a doctorate degree from Harvard University and began his career as a Professor of Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison retiring as Professor Emeritus. He is famous throughout the world for his research in medical physics and radiology and his many advancements in medical imaging.

His pioneering invention of Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) revolutionized vascular imaging worldwide and remains the gold standard for diagnostic angiography. This and subsequent landmark contributions were licensed by major medical device companies and translated into products that continue to benefit patients across the globe. He received patents, awards and accolades too numerous to mention including a Nobel Prize nomination.

For over five decades, he has been the most generous and supportive of colleagues – devoted to the success of junior faculty, clinicians and collaborators. His humility, kindness, and selfless advocacy have launched countless careers and fostered a spirit of collaboration.

Chuck was integrally involved in the activities of his children, never failing to attend important events and celebrated all their successes. He was a board member for the family ministry Outreach for World Hope and traveled to Guatemala with numerous mission teams to serve the poor.

Chuck will be dearly missed and remembered with love.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Peters Catholic Church, 5001 N. Sherman Ave., Madison, Wisconsin on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 11:00 am with a visitation at the church from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Entombment will be held on Friday, June 19, 2026 at 11:00 am at All Saints Mausoleum in Des Plaines, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial donations be made to Outreach for World Hope – outreachforworldhope.org.

For more information or to leave a memory, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

2418 N. Sherman Avenue

608-249-8257

Events

Visitation

Thu Jun 18, 2026 @ 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM CDT

St. Peter Catholic Church • 5001 N Sherman Ave, Madison, WI 53704

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Mass of Christian Burial

Thu Jun 18, 2026 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CDT

St. Peter Catholic Church • 5001 N Sherman Ave, Madison, WI 53704

Get Directions Send Flowers for Charles "Chuck"'s Mass of Christian Burial

Entombment

Fri Jun 19, 2026 @ 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM CDT

All Saints Mausoleum • 700 N River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60016

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Max Lagally

Friend • 3 hours ago

This is a voice from the distant past. I have known Chuck since 1970, when we shared an office as postdocs in the Physics Department, along with a third, Don Cox. It was in the basement of Sterling Hall, with a window facing Charter Street. Chuck was a postdoc with Dick Moran, one of the early practitioners of nuclear magnetic resonance as applied to condensed matter physics. I was a postdoc with Barney Webb, doing surface physics. Don was a plasma astrophysicist. It was an interesting and terrifying year. I came in January 1970 after a year abroad as a postdoc. Both Chuck and Don were already there. The political climate was very unstable. In the years before, the National Guard was on campus and we had widespread protests, with tear gas and clubs everywhere, which I experienced as a grad student. Then in August of 1970, the Army Math Research Center, on the top floor of Sterling Hall just around the corner, was bombed, with severe damage also to the basement, not five hundred feet from our office. One of my friends, Bob Fassnacht, was killed in the explosion. I wonder if Chuck ever talked about this event? All of us were looking for a permanent position, although Don apparently had been promised one in the Physics Department. All of us had faculty positions by Fall 1971. Chuck ended up in Medical Physics and I in Materials Science and Engineering. I would say all of us had remarkable careers (two of us in the National Academy of Engineering), with Chuck clearly the most successful. We spoke occasionally over the years, mostly as I congratulated Chuck on another major award. My condolences to the family. Max Lagally

Steve Riederer

Coworker • 5 hours ago

The obituary already describes Chuck’s interests, his dedication to family, and his professional achievements. With respect to the latter, another measure of influence is to look at the careers of those he mentored and what their collective accomplishment have been. Over a span of five decades Chuck served as the principal advisor to over 35 individuals who completed the Ph.D. degree in medical imaging physics as well as several dozen postdoctoral fellows. Each studied a major research project under Chuck’s mentorship. I’m proud and grateful to be a member of this group. These individuals have gone on to a variety of careers themselves. The impact of Chuck’s mentorship goes well beyond his own accomplishments which themselves are significant but extends through his mentees and their own advances in DSA, CT, MRI, ultrasound and other areas which have shaped modern medical imaging.

Jim Sorenson

Friend • 5 hours ago

I first met Chuck in his very earliest days at UW-Madison. This was around 1970, during his transition from high-energy physics to medical physics. It did not take long for me (and others) to recognize his unique scientific skills. Within only a few years he became well-known in the Medical Physics community. Chuck and Darlene’s children were similar in number and age to ours, and we developed a family relationship as well. We also were soon enjoying our favorite pastimes: playing golf and going fishing. In 1973, my family and I moved to Salt Lake City, where I took a position in the University of Utah Radiology Department. A few years later, I invited him to present a seminar to that department. I also invited him to stay an extra day or two to enjoy the environment in Utah. Our first activity was to fish for “high mountain” trout in the nearby Uinta Mountains. This was a 2-3 hour drive from SLC and over 10,000 feet above sea level. I was well-acclimated to altitude by that time and the fishing was good. However, after an hour or two, Chuck began to experience “high-altitude sickness.” There is only one “cure” for this problem: Pack up and drive back down the mountain! This cut down on our fishing time, but his altitude sickness had evaporated by the time we reached SLC. I have attached a photo of Chuck and me “showing off” some of our “trophy fish” after that expedition. We also played a round of golf in SLC. Unfortunately, our tee-time was rather early in the day, when strong and chilly winds came down from nearby mountain canyons into the SLC valley every morning. We played on a course that was only a few hundred yards from a nearby canyon. He had not brought along any clothing for those conditions so he wore one of Lucy’s windbreaker jackets. It was something like a strait jacket for him and he could barely take a decent backswing. However, he liked that and claimed it was one of the best rounds he ever played! Although we worked in different areas of medical physics, Chuck and I continued to exchange notes during my time in SLC on our research projects, family events, golfing tips, etc. Our friendship continued to grow some 13 years later, when I eventually returned to the University of Wisconsin. Doing things with him was always a pleasure, and I think I smiled every time we met at faculty meetings or at the check-in counter at a golf course, or just passed each other in a hallway. Our sincere condolences to Darlene and the rest of his family. Like many others, Lucy and I will miss him very much. Jim and Lucy Sorenson

Tom Riederer

Friend • 6 hours ago

I remember growing up with the Mistretta's as our next door neighbors. My fondest memory of Chuck was when he took me and Scott canoeing and fishing down the Rock River in southern Wisconsin In the early 1970s. We had a great time, caught a few fish and didn't tip the canoe over. I really enjoyed it. RIP Chuck - I'm sure there's some big ones to be caught where you're going.

Mark Shale

Friend • 1 day ago

I fondly remember Chuck and his wife Darlene from the 1980s when they enrolled in the ballroom dance classes I taught at the time for the University of Wisconsin Continuing Education in the Arts Program. Chuck was always so friendly and enthusiastic. I wish his family well in this difficult time. He was a wonderful man.

Jim Dobbins

Coworker • 3 days ago

I had the privilege of having Chuck as my PhD advisor. He was a brilliant scientist, a prolific inventor and innovator, and very importantly, a wonderful human being. Chuck won many international awards and literally changed the way medical imaging is done, and yet dedicated himself also to helping those in under-resourced regions of the world. He and I had numerous conversations over the years on how to exhibit the love of God by bringing tangible assistance to those around the world in resource-limited areas. Chuck's brilliance as an imaging physicist will be deeply missed in our community, but his generosity, good humor, loyalty to his students, and care for others will be his defining legacy. Chuck was like a father-figure to the dozens of PhD students he advised, and he was my north star in terms of what it means to be a medical physicist. Chuck always emphasized not simply doing what others could do but rather doing something new, innovative, and creative that would change the world. I am very sad today at the news of Chuck's passing but so thankful that I had the blessing to be one of his students. He had a profound influence on my life and career. Chuck was a bright light in our field, and will be deeply missed. To Darlene, Kim, Lauri, and Scott: may God's mercy rest upon you in the days ahead as you grieve Chuck's passing. - Jim Dobbins