Dr. Whitson B. "Pete" Etheridge II

1944 - 2019

Whitson B. "Pete" Etheridge II
1944-2019
Pete Etheridge died unexpectedly on July 10, 2019 at his summer home in Livingston, Montana.
Pete is preceded in death by his parents Marie and Whitson B. Etheridge. He is survived by his wife of almost 52 years, Nancy; his daughter, Hailey Bechtol, and her husband, Brent; his son, Cooper, and his wife, Kim; and his five grandchildren, Pete, Mac and Cal Bechtol; and Emerson and Sloan Etheridge. Pete is also survived by his sisters, Ann Marie Hopkins, Mary Faye Way and Jo Carol Oberman; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Pete was born on November 6, 1944 in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Conroe, where he was an outstanding athlete in football and track, and he graduated from Conroe High School as Valedictorian in 1963. He attended the University of Texas, where he met Nancy Denman. He also made life-long friends as a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the Texas Cowboys. Pete graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas in 1967, and he began medical school at Baylor College of Medicine that same year. After completing his internship at Baylor, he served two years in the United States Navy. He spent the next seven years of his medical practice in Salt Lake City, Utah; in Austin, Texas, where he was the Chief Resident at Brackenridge Hospital; and in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he opened the first dialysis center in Northern Colorado. In 1980, he moved back to Houston to St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital where he would spend the rest of his career. In 1986, Pete was an integral part of the St. Luke's team that started the hospital's kidney transplant program, a unique collaboration between UT-Houston Medical School and the Baylor College of Medicine. In 1991, he became Medical Director of St. Luke's Kidney Transplant Program and, subsequently, Clinical Director of Transplant Services, positions he held until his death. Given Pete's acumen for transplant immunology, he served as Chair of the Medical Review Board of St. Luke's Heart Transplant Program beginning in 2005, a position he also held until his death. Pete was dedicated to educating the next generation of doctors, and, as Clinical Associate Professor of Baylor College of Medicine, he received numerous teaching awards. In 2011, he received the Master Clinician of the Year award at St. Luke's Hospital. Over the years, Pete worked as Medical Director of multiple Fresenius dialysis clinics, focusing on the care of patients in communities far removed from Houston's Medical Center.
When he wasn't working tirelessly on behalf of his patients, Pete loved spending time with his family and friends, and enjoyed weekend trips to Brenham and summer trips to Montana.
Since Pete never wanted a formal funeral, the family hopes you will do something in his honor in whatever way you would like. Memorial contributions may be given to The Living Bank - 4545 Post Oak Place, Suite 340, Houston, TX 77027 (https://www.livingbank.org/), Yellowstone Forever - PO Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 (https://www.yellowstone.org/), or to the charity of your choice.