Warren G. Guntheroth

Dr. Warren G. Guntheroth, MD

Dr. Warren G. Guntheroth, MD passed away September 17 after suffering a heart attack at his office at University Hospital. He reached the Emergency Room within minutes, fully conscious and giving directions. Dr. Guntheroth met death on good terms; his wife Sally nearby, with little pain and no fear, and without lingering physical or mental disability.

Warren was born in 1927 to working-class parents and grew up in Depression-era Oklahoma. He attended Harvard College and Medical School on an academic scholarship. He met his first wife Ellie when he was a medical resident and she was a nursing student. They had three children together; Kurt, Karl, and Sten, and six grandchildren. Their marriage lasted 52 years, only ending on Ellie's death. Warren's second wife Sally was Ellie's nursing school roommate and maid of honor at his first wedding. Warren was an avid skier, and climbed 500 named mountain peaks. Warren loved his dogs, and loved to talk about them, particularly Sasha, about whom he wrote a book.

Dr. Guntheroth joined the faculty of the University of Washington in 1957, founded the department of Pediatric Cardiology, and became a full professor in 1969. He published 184 peer-reviewed papers, four medical books and 54 chapters, including the first medical textbook on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. He maintained a clinical practice for 55 years, following thousands of patients from infancy to middle-age. Dr. Guntheroth was the first American to publish a paper calling for the "back to sleep" position for infants, preventing thousands of deaths from SIDS each year.

There is a memorial gathering on October 28 from 3-5:30 at the University of Washington Club on campus.