David A. H. Whiteman

David was born in 1952 in Southport, England to Eileen Hadley and Arthur Whiteman. He attended what was then called the Repton School for Boys in Derbyshire, developing a keen intellect and a love of academic exploration. His parents lived much of his youth in Africa, moving between Algeria, the Sudan, and Tanzania. David and his stepfather Len Berry would tell stories of landing a small plane alongside a field camp in the Serengeti, heading out in a Land Rover David was too young to be driving, and spending unforgettable days counting lions. His time in Africa gave him a sense of boundless possibility. David later completed his undergraduate and medical education at Oxford University and continued his medical work at Harvard University. In 1979, he went on to Hartford, Connecticut to begin a pediatric residency. It was during these years that he met Mary Ellen, who in 1981 became his wife. This was followed by a fellowship in medical genetics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that began his lifelong dedication to the care of patients with rare genetic and metabolic disorders.

David was board-certified in pediatrics, genetics, and biochemical genetics, with over 40 years of experience. His distinguished career spanned leadership positions at The Mayo Clinic, Shire Human Genetic Therapies, and most recently as Vice President of R&D and Global Program Leader at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he tirelessly worked on the creation of treatments that would benefit patients, focusing on the development of therapies for diseases like Hunter Syndrome and MPS.

He epitomized what it means to place patients at the center of everything he accomplished in rare disease medicine. At the core of his practice, he understood the need to treat each family with compassion. When he retired in 2024, he continued to work as mentor and advisor to rare disease family groups and his colleagues.

In the days since he's gone, his family has had an overwhelming response from colleagues around the world, the scope and breadth of which even his family weren't aware, and much of which is available online. Reams could be written here about his professional accomplishments, but that would discomfit him.

No obituary could ever convey how much he loved his sons, his enjoyment in spending time with them, and his delight in the men they have become.

David will be enormously missed by his devoted wife Mary Ellen, beloved sons Colin and Nick (girlfriend Kara Peruccio), stepdad Len Berry, brother Roger Berry, sisters Sara McKinley and Rachel Whiteman, brothers/partners-in-law (Bob Childs, David Comerford, James Cyrul, and Simon Davies Burrows), and sisters-in-law (Sonia Perez-Villaneuva, Joan Cyrul, Lisa Childs, Diane Comerford, and Chris Nolte), his many dearly loved nephews and nieces, great-nephews and nieces, cousins, colleagues, and friends around the world. He was pre-deceased by his parents Arthur Whiteman and Eileen Berry, and brother John Whiteman.

Above all else David's life was spent caring – he cared for his family, he cared for his friends and colleagues, and he cared for his young patients. On January 27, 2026, he died suddenly and unexpectedly, but at his home in Maine, where he wanted to be more than anywhere -- the one place he loved most in the world. A profound change in all of our lives.

Please remember him not just for his keen intellect and many professional accomplishments, but for his wonderful British sense of humor, his kind and generous heart, and enduring love of family and friends. He would advise you, "Follow your passions, follow what appeals to you even if it's not immediately obvious to other people where your path is leading. That's truly the best way to make a difference in other people's lives."

In lieu of flowers, should you feel a need to donate in his memory, two charities important to him are SeriousFun Children's Network (https://seriousfun.org/camps-and-programs/) and the National MPS Society (https://mpssociety.org/en/news/whiteman-2026/).