Daniel H Winship

Daniel Holcomb Winship 1933 - 2025

Winship, Daniel Holcomb, MD. Dan, 91, was born on July 4, 1933, and peacefully entered into eternal life on January 1, 2025. Dan felt the Fourth of July was a perfect day of the year for a birthday, and he relished his annual fireworks. It was fitting then that the fireworks of New Year's Day ushered in his rebirth.

Dan was born in Houston, Texas and spent his formative years between Houston and the family's "Rockpile Ranch" in Segovia, TX where he had fond memories of his early education in a one room schoolhouse. When Dan was ten years old, he was devastated by the untimely death of his father due to complications following a broken leg. This event would inspire Dan to become a physician and ignite his passion for medical education and minimizing medical error. During the years following his father's death, he and his brother Bob helped support their mother and lovingly (sometimes mischievously) served as surrogate fathers and mentors to their much younger brother David.

After graduating from Reagan High School where he was described as a "defensive demon" on the football field, Dan attended Rice University in Houston where he earned his B.A. in 1954. He worked in the oil fields during summers to earn money for his education and lettered playing football for Rice. He would lament well into his old age that if he hadn't dropped football senior year to concentrate on his pre-med studies, he could have played in the Cotton Bowl in 1954 (when Rice was victorious against Alabama). The disappointment of his football career notwithstanding, Dan went on to attend the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and graduate with his MD in 1958. He would later be honored by UTMB as an Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus.

Dan's distinguished fifty-plus year medical career began with an internship at the Ochsner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans, followed by a residency in internal medicine at University of Utah, and a fellowship in gastroenterology at Yale University School of Medicine. He began his faculty and clinical career at Marquette Medical School (now the Medical College of Wisconsin) before accepting a position at the University of Missouri School of Medicine at Columbia in 1969. There he established a new Division of Gastroenterology (GI) and GI Fellowship program. He would lead Missouri's GI Division for over 10 years, having tremendous impact clinically and fostering one of the most robust research divisions in the department. In 1977, during his tenure at Missouri, he would return to Yale University to complete a sabbatical year as a Research Fellow in Medical Ethics at the Divinity School and a Commonwealth Foundation Fellow of the Law, Science and Medicine at the Law School. Dan would remain passionate about medical ethics and its instruction throughout his career.

In 1990, Dan received the Exceptional Service Medal and Award from the Department of Veteran's Affairs. This distinction was in recognition of his many years as a clinician and administrative leader within the VA health system, including three years at the national VA headquarters in Washington DC where he served as the Associate Deputy Chief Medical Director for the VA (the Health System COO). Following his tenure in DC, he was honored to serve as Dean of Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine through the decade of the 1990's. During his Deanship, he continued to hold a clinic and see patients at Edward J Hines, Jr VA Hospital - unwilling to give up the clinical and teaching roles he loved. Dan was a lifetime Fellow in the American College of Physicians and served in voluntary leadership roles with multiple societies and associations, including the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). In 2000 he returned to the University of Missouri at Columbia in a newly created position of Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and was later honored as a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Medicine. From 2003-2004 he served as a Robert G Petersdorf Scholar in Residence at the AAMC headquarters in Washington, DC. From 2004-2006 he served as Chief of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services. He retired in 2010 from the American Medical Association after serving as Secretary to the Council on Medical Education and Assistant Secretary to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

Along with his professional achievements, Dan took great satisfaction in the role of "family doctor" - children, cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws and friends came to him with their health concerns, and he would compassionately counsel and/or call in favors from his vast network of physician colleagues. It didn't matter what the ailment or injury, sometimes straying into pet issues as well, he always had someone to call or some advice to give. It was very reassuring to his loved ones that "Dan, the doctor" was in their corner and happy to respond 24/7.

Dan's love of learning extended to everything in the natural world, and he had a very keen eye for spotting camouflaged "critters" and an impressive ability to identify trees, plants and flowers (sans "an app" for such things). He said if he hadn't been a physician, he would have been a forester. His time in the Texas Hill Country fostered his love of flora and fauna as well as his habit of catching sunrises, sunsets, full moons and eclipses whenever possible. During the last twenty years, he treasured the proximity of his Chicago apartment to Lake Michigan, the Nature Museum, the Lincoln Park Conservatory and Lincoln Park Zoo and, a bus-ride away, the Shedd Aquarium.

Dan appreciated all the joys life had to offer. He loved his faith, his family, his friends - he loved people. He loved his chosen profession of medicine and the opportunity to teach and mentor medical students and young physicians. Dan's love for the humanities and the arts fed and shaped him as a physician and a man. He loved virtually all genres of music, and his playlist was long and amusingly eclectic. And while his youthful training on the viola faded early, he picked up the harmonica as a traveling companion and he was known as a gifted and prolific whistler of tunes. Dan was a voracious reader, from the essential daily morning newspapers and Sunday comics to an endless stream of hardcover library books (which he cherished long after others turned to paperbacks and screens). He was also an avid bicyclist - his last major bike trip was in New Zealand with his wife Win, who shared his bicycling bug. Dan loved traveling, getting out of his element, and was proud to have visited all 50 states. He possessed an uncanny sense of direction which served him well while navigating many a road-trip, often with a station wagon full of family. An opportunity to fly fish or set foot on a sailboat imbued him with pure happiness. At heart, Dan loved and appreciated the simple things in life - a walk in the park, a good chat over good chili, a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, any encounter with babies and children, and the company of dogs, and yes, cats too.

Dan married his first wife, Winnifred "Win", just prior to medical school and they were blessed with five children. Dan was a loving and beloved father and grandfather, and he worked tirelessly to prioritize those roles despite the demands of his career. He and Win did not own a TV while their children were growing up and likely as a consequence, all of the children took after their parents in being very avid readers and independent, critical thinkers. A challenging and distressing chapter of their lives began when their incredibly bright, talented daughter Rebecca was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 17. They were devoted to Rebecca's care for the rest of her 40 years, and Dan became an advocate for the mentally ill. Among other activities, he served as President of the Board of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) from 1994-1997 and co-chaired the Missouri Department of Mental Health Best Practices Committee from 2000-2003. Dan's family remained his pride and joy throughout his life.

Dan married his wife Jean in 2003. Jean, a lifetime Chicagoan, was totally taken with his inimitable southern gentleman charm and ability to melt her heart when he called her Darlin'. They would remain inseparable for the next 21 years.

After struggling with mild cognitive impairment followed by mild dementia, Dan was formally diagnosed with dementia consistent with Alzheimer's disease in January of 2013. In typical fashion, Dan expressed almost immediately that he hoped his disease could be a teaching tool. His receptiveness to music sustained him throughout and was, without a doubt, his best medicine. He would become involved early on with CJE Senior Life and attend their day programs and activities. He joined a clinical trial at Rush University's Alzheimer's Disease Center (RADC) and he and his wife Jean - often accompanied by children and/or grandchildren - began their annual participation in the Alzheimer's Association Chicago Walk to End Alzheimer's with Team "Dani and Friends." He became an active participant in the life enrichment programs offered by the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease at Northwestern University, including a story-telling workshop with another couple who would become the dearest of friends as a result. There, he and Jean crafted a story of their relationship and diagnosis journey and shared it publicly for teaching purposes until Dan's ability to read slipped away. Another activity Dan participated in at the Center was the Buddy Program, his "light in the darkness," that paired volunteer first year medical students with early-stage dementia patients. For him to feel purposeful and a part of medical education again was elating. When Dan was initially diagnosed, he committed to donating his brain to research at Northwestern's Mesulam Center, and that desire would be fulfilled. He never wanted to stop educating medical students - he never did.

Dan lived a life defined by his faith, his boundless capacity for love and his dedication to serving others. Even as his mind and body failed him, his ready grin, twinkling eyes and "tough as a Texas boot" resilience touched many a heart. He will be greatly missed and forever loved.

Dan is survived by his wife, Jean; his children Charles "Chuck" (Nancy J) Winship, Nancy E (David) Winship, David R (Lisa) Winship, and Molly Winship; grandchildren Damion (Alice) Winship, Elizabeth (Fabian) Winship, Charles (Shealey) Winship, Kelley (Shawn) Winship, Adam Coffman and Josh Coffman; and great-grandchildren Jack, Nathan and Asa; his brother David C (Karen) Winship as well as dear nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Dan was preceded in death by his first wife and mother of his children, Winnifred Winship; their daughter Rebecca Winship; his parents, Gladys (Holcomb) and Robert N Winship; his elder brother Robert "Bob" Winship and sister-in-law Shirley Winship; and nephews, Rob Winship and Dan Winship.

Dan was a member of the Presbyterian, Church of Christ and Episcopalian denominations over various stages of his life. In the Chicago area, he was an active member of Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park, IL and later attended Our Savior Episcopal Church in Chicago as well as various services and events at Fourth Presbyterian Church. The hospice chaplains played a much-appreciated role in his spiritual care during his final years.

The family extends their deepest gratitude to all those individuals and aforementioned organizations who enriched Dan's life and cared for him during his extended journey with dementia. A special note of appreciation to devoted home caregiver, Gilbert; physical therapist, Ben Trukman; internist, Dr. Richard Abrams; and the staff, volunteers and physicians of Unity Hospice for their compassionate end-of-life care.

A Memorial Service celebrating the life of Daniel Holcomb Winship will be held on Friday, March 21, 2025, at 2PM at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E Chestnut, Chicago, IL, 60611. The service will also be live-streamed at www.fourthchurch.org/watch In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry, 238 N 15th St, Junction, TX 76849 (or any of the organizations mentioned herein) in his memory.