Deceased December 10, 1997

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In Memory

Our dear classmate and dedicated doctor Bob Winter died of complications from diabetes at the age of 52 on Dec. 10, 1997, at his Bloomingdale, Ill., home. He was a professor of pediatrics and associate dean for medical education at Northwestern University until last May, when his declining health forced him to wind down.

As an Amherst freshman, Bob roomed with Ron Hoge ’67 at Stearns. “Bob was always smiling, always helpful, never demanding,” Ron remembered. “You know, the kind of freshman roommate that made adjusting to Amherst easy.” Irv Gordon ’67, who lived down the hall, noted about Bob, “He was a very upbeat guy, usually smiling, but very demanding of himself. … I enjoyed a comfortable rapport with him. He was unpretentious and engaging … a very decent fellow.”

Peter Dodge ’67 reflected, “Ron and Irv were perhaps the acknowledged if untitled leaders of the genial gang residing in our hallway. As for Bob, he was simply the most congenial and well-mannered of us all, the rare person whose genuine innocence and inherent good nature charmed universally, and would doubtless do so again if he were with us now, even in this edgier and more cynical age. There was an elemental goodness about Bob which was resonant in our day, but it was a goodness of substance and not of naivete.”

November 22, 1963: “It was in Bob and Ron’s room, on that now strangely sunny Friday afternoon,” Peter remembered, “that many of us—freshly returned from the breaded perch and tartar sauce that was the Friday noon staple at Valentine—crouched and huddled together in disbelief to learn that our charismatic president, who had privileged us with his visit only weeks before, was first dying and then dead. There are few moments which so call out for sharing, however mute, and for the wordless companionship of true friends. That must be why so many of us made our way instinctively to Bob’s room.”

Peter also saw Bob in the broader context of Amherst. “There was a kind of brilliance to the Amherst experience we knew, and prime aspects of that experience included the shared first year core curriculum, life in the freshman dorms and the deferral of fraternity rush to the weekend before spring break. This gave each member of the class the opportunity to know many other classmates well, the chance to cultivate something in common. ... As much as I enjoyed my fraternity experience, the memory of a year shared with the many good and vibrant and acutely intelligent souls inhabiting second floor Stearns is particularly vivid. In Bob Winter, I made a friend with whom my association extended beyond first year to Phi Delt, where we both pledged and maintained a satisfying membership for the balance of our undergraduate days.”

About Bob’s fervent desire to become a doctor, Peter noted, “The entire Phi Delt house hung in suspense during winter semester of our senior year, waiting to see whether Bob would be admitted to medical school, as was his dream. Bob Winter was just the sort of person whom everyone (including others of us anxious about admission to grad school) would root for. It is my recollection that Bob spent his senior year as a resident dorm advisor, honing those skills of temperament, patience, generosity of self and insight which would serve any pediatrician well.”

Gary Ahlskog ’67 remembered Bob’s determination and good deeds. “Bob and I had a weekly talk at the crack of dawn Sunday mornings in Valentine East. He would get up rain or shine to drive Rev. Richard Koenig’s station wagon to Northampton, bring Smith students back to Immanuel Lutheran Church for services and then reverse this itinerary in the afternoon. He never thought of this as a chore. Since he knew it was worthwhile, he would do it.” Gary continued, “Bob had an unwavering wish to become a physician. I was fortunate to have him as my lab partner during the escapades devised by Hexter and Yost. When I saw Bob extract liver samples from chromosomal study, I knew indeed that he was going to be a physician—and I was not. I owe him for this vocational guidance.”

The son of Quentin and Carla Manthey Zorn Winter, Robert John Winter was born in Toledo, Ohio, on Oct. 13, 1945, and was a graduate of St. Charles (Ill.) High School.

After Amherst, Bob received his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School in 1971 and was a pediatric intern at Hartford Hospital in 1971-72. He subsequently did his residency at Boston City Hospital in 1972-73, and became a fellow in pediatric endocrinology at Johns Hopkins in 1973-75. He joined the faculty of Northwestern University Medical School in 1975, and upon completing postgraduate work there, he began as a pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Memorial Hospital. There he specialized in treating children who inherited diabetes. Until 1994, he taught pediatrics at Children’s Memorial. From 1984 to 1994, he also served as director of medical education at Children’s Memorial.

Bob was associate dean at Northwestern since 1994 and associate chair of educational programs at Children’s Memorial Hospital. In June, he retired because of failing health. He was serving as the Jacob Suker Professor of Medical Education at Northwestern when he left.

He was honored with several outstanding clinical teaching awards and in 1993 received the Dean’s Award for Educational Leadership. His published articles included “Treatment of Infants,” “Children and Adolescents,” and he was editor of Current Problems in Pediatrics.

His memberships included the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society and the Society for Pediatrics Research. He was active in the American Diabetes Association, serving as president of the Northern Illinois Chapter and on the national board of directors, and the Juvenile Diabetes Association.

Surviving are his wife, Willa Roberts, whom he married in 1972; a son, Andrew, a 1996 graduate of Kenyon College and a computer programmer at Northwestern University; and a brother, Thomas. A memorial service was held on Jan. 12 at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

Gary Ahlskog wrote, “Saddened as I am at his premature death, I shall remember Bob as someone who achieved his dream.” Irv Gordon noted from rereading Bob’s letter in our 25th Reunion yearbook, “It sounded like he was making a positive difference in the lives of a large number of people, and I suppose that is at least an (the?) important test by which we all are ultimately to be judged.”

For those who do not have the reunion yearbook handy, here’s a bit of what Bob wrote: “Each of us, in our own way, wishes to make a difference. The: opportunity to interact annually with 500 medical students and be responsible for the training of 65 pediatric residents affords the opportunity to make a difference. …” He added, “One of the most satisfying aspects of medicine, and certainly of a career in pediatrics, is the ease with which one’s values so easily translate into a very satisfying ability to make a difference.”

Our sincere and heartfelt condolences go to Bob’s wife, Willa, son Andrew and brother Tom. Bob achieved his dream, a noble one, and made a difference—he delivered.

L. Edward Lucaire ’67