Dr. Richard K. Root

Dr. Richard K. ROOT Devoted husband, father, grandfather, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington Medical School and former chief of medicine at Harborview Medical Center, died while on a medical mission in Botswana, March 19, 2006. Born in New York City on December 1, 1937, he grew up in Leonia, N.J., where he met his wife of 41 years, Marilyn Parletta Root, while in high school. He attended Wesleyan University and received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 1963. Dr. Root started his career at the National Institutes of Health. A gifted teacher and mentor, he became the founding chief of the department of infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1970's, the chief of the department of infectious diseases at Yale, and the chair of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, before coming to the University of Washington in 1991. Dr. Root and his first wife raised three sons. He cared for her devotedly when she battled and succumbed to Lou Gehrig's Disease in 2001. Dr. Root remarried to Rita O'Boyle in 2004. At the invitation of the Infectious Disease Department at U. Penn, who run a medical service program in Botswana, the couple traveled with a joint sense of purpose to Africa. This opportunity fulfilled a desire Dr. Root had harbored since seeing the first AIDS patient in America over 25 years ago. He believed his medical career had come full circle. After participating in a clinic run by the Tuli Lodge, Dick expressed to Rita how complete and happy he felt. The following morning, on a guided canoe trip, Dr. Root was pulled into the river by a crocodile and did not survive the attack. Despite all of his accomplishments, he was most proud of being a loving husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Rita O'Boyle of Seattle, his sons Richard A. and Grace Root of Upland, CA, David and Chris Root of Seattle, and Daniel and Amanda Root of Kirkland, his stepdaughters Rebecca Fotheringham and Anna Potvin of Seattle, eight beloved grandchildren and two step grandchildren. Memorial Services to be held at St. Dunstan's Of The Highlands, 722 N 145th, on Saturday, April 1 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the University of Pennsylvania Botswana Memorial Fund.