Robert H. Colfelt M.D.

Robert H. Colfelt, MD

May 28, 1934 ~ February 1, 2013

Bob was born and raised in Seattle and spent nearly his entire life living in the Seattle area. He had a great sense of humor, was ready to fight a good fight, tried his hand at farming for a while (with mixed results), hunted and fished over the years (mostly to no avail), cherished family trips, and loved opera, classical music, the natural world, old Westerns and war movies, writing, the cabin on Marrowstone Island, sports (especially the Mariners- now he can hear Dave call the games again!), and books. All kinds of books. Poetry, politics, history, religion, philosophy, biographies, mysteries. Book store owners of any town he visited were sure to have a good day's business. And he loved his family, especially his 13 grandkids, and Spud, his dog.

Bob got his undergraduate degree at the University of Washington, graduated from the UW School of Medicine, class of 1959, and later became Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the UW. He co-founded Seattle Neurological Clinic in the early 1960s and continued his private practice until the late 1990s. He continued to do medical-legal work up until he died.

Bob was Chairman of King County Medical Blue Shield from 1980-1982, and was a member of the board for over 10 years. In 1987, his book Together in the Dark: Mysteries of Healing was published. A collection of stories, sketches, and essays, many of them were originally published in the King County Medical Bulletin, where he was editor from 1977-1987.

Many thanks and love to Teri Stackpole, Dennis Hughes, and Dr. Hal Rappaport for being such good friends with Bob, and to Jeff and the staff at Santoro's Books. You, along with many professional colleagues, family, and friends, all helped keep him going.

Bob was preceded in death by Mary, and is survived by their four children and their spouses, Kurt and Nacole, Brenda and Al, Colleen and Kurt, Todd and Amy, 13 grandchildren, and his brother, Bill. We will all miss him deeply.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ballard Food Bank or the Union Gospel Mission.