John Edward Milner M.D.

John Edward MILNER, MD John Edward Milner passed away gently on 24 February 2010 and today his family, friends, and colleagues are deeply grieving the loss of his presence here among us. Yet we are filled with great joy and gratitude for all the years we have shared. Such a true, generous, and kind soul will not be found again soon. He was born to Joseph and Elizabeth Milner on 12 March 1931 in Bremerton, WA. His beloved sister, Margaret, was born two years later and they have shared a deep, unbreakable friendship ever since. During the Depression the family shuttled up and down the Coast between Long Beach and Bremerton while their father was deployed at sea. By the time WWII was in full swing they permanently returned to Bremerton and lived with their grandmother while their mother moved into town to work in the Navy Yard. John was always an imaginative, reflective boy with a lively curiosity about everything. He was also an extremely early reader. Somewhere he got the idea that printed letters, in groups, were a sort of code for things existing in the Real World. He taught himself to read by listening to the Sunday comics being read over the radio while following along with the printed version in the newspaper, pointing at and sounding out each set of letters as they were read aloud. He was a preschooler at the time. In the 40's a set of 'Astounding Science Fiction' magazines ignited John's enduring love of science and medicine. From this time onward he read non-stop. He began to excel academically and won many science awards in high school. He built a working Wilson Atomic Cloud Chamber as a science project for which he won a full scholarship in nuclear physics to UC Berkeley. However, the military influences in his life led him to compete in a statewide contest for a Presidential Appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point, which he won. John graduated from the Military Academy with a degree in electrical engineering, chose the Air Force as his branch of service, and was shipped off to the Korean War after finishing pilot training. His love of flying remained part of him through his lifetime and in his later years he loved flying single engine land and sea planes. After serving a 4-year hitch in Korea plus one extra year as Base Adjutant at Pittsburgh, John was needing something more in his life. He resigned his commission in the service and applied to medical school. Due to his Army service he was older than the usual college entrant and because his degree was in engineering he also was lacking in a strong biological science background. To remedy this John did 1½ years ofbio-sciences in one summer and entered the University of Washington the following Fall, working other jobs continually to supplement his Gl Bill. As in high school, he found the more he studied the better he liked it and the more he excelled. John was Outstanding Graduate in his class, earning straight A's during all four years of medical school. In the process he also won many academicand research awards. The day after graduation, newly-married couple John and Wanda left for Boston and a Harvard internship, and a new area of life opened up for them both, professionally and also in the realm of family. With each step in his life, John's innate caring nature and his desire to serve and to be of use to others continued to evolve. This process reached its deepest and most personal point with the birth of their children, Joseph and Lana, at which time John's 'father's heart' was born also. These two wonderful people have always been THE great joys of John's life and he is immeasurably proud of them. After returning from Boston, John began at the UW as a faculty member in both Environmental Health and in the School of Medicine where he taught, pursued his own research ideas, and was busy in the UW clinics. As his interests clarified over time he became board certified in both Dermatology and in Occupational Medicine. He has remained active in the clinics and in teaching in Dermatology until just recently. While at the UW his path crossed with Joan, a co-worker, anda friendship matured into something greater. Their marriage has been filled with laughter, love, companionship and enough challenge to keeplife lively and deeply satisfying. When administrative duties increased and reduced his patient and student time, an opportunity to practice full-time came to him from The Everett Clinic. He accepted joyfully and for 18 years he practiced in this wonderful clinic, adding greatly to his clinical skills and learning the deep satisfaction of caring daily for people in distress. He spentmany hours studying and practicing methods to achieve painless surgeries, for which hispatients blessed him. Not only was he instrumental in helping the Dermatology Department mature and grow, but he also began the Occupational Medicine Department as well. These were very busy and happy years and John discovered how wonderful it is to expend great parts of one's life on behalf of others' welfare. Since his retirement John continued to pursue his great loves - learning and helping. He continued assisting in UW clinics and taught frequently. Personally he exercised his energies in more exploratory areas including study in several disciplines of complementary medicine; reading military history; and studying Egyptology and learning to read hieroglyphs. He also began writing a novel just recently. Being freer of his daily demanding schedule afforded him more time to enjoy being with family and friends and to do a bit of traveling. In January 2010 the UW Department of Dermatology named him their first Professor Emeritus which completed a cycle, as John was their very first Resident many years ago. In December The Everett Clinic notified him they were naming their dermatology department after him, thus honoring him as one of the Clinic's founders. While John's achievements and experiences are considerable and his professional honors great, it will be his gentle wit and ready smile; his endless kindnesses to everyone - friends or strangers, no matter; and his habitual questionto everyone, "What can I do to help?" which will live in our hearts and make us smile forever. John is survived by his wife, Joan; his two children, Joe and Lana; his mother-in-law, Helen; and his sister, Margaret and her husband, Robert, and their three daughters - Joan of Seattle, Nancy of Federal Way, and Karen of Bainbridge Is., and their families. A private family burial will be followed by a wake, the time of which is to be announced later. We all extend our profound thanks and gratitude to the phenomenal people at Evergreen Hospice and Family Resources. Our family encourages that any remembrances be made to Evergreen Hospice, 12822 124th Lane NE, Kirkland WA 98034.