During an illustrious 41-year career at UW Medicine, Dr. Loren Winterscheid combined his training in microbiology and surgery to advance patient care, clinical research and medical education. He died on December 22, 2017.
Winterscheid was an attending surgeon at UW Medical Center (1961–98) and Harborview Medical Center (1963–98). He also served as the medical director of UW Medical Center from 1972 to 1989.
He may be best known for work done with fellow surgeon Dr. K. Alvin Merendino on heart-lung machines used during heart surgery. His research, which focused on improvements to patient care and doctors’ livelihoods, spanned decades.
“He was a great surgeon and teacher, a benefactor of the Department of Surgery and — for me — a good personal friend whose smile, demeanor, care and candor was and is an inspiration,” says Dr. Carlos Pellegrini, UW Medicine’s chief medical officer.
“Dad was very proud of his university,” says his daughter, Gail Winterscheid. And while her father was also proud of his accomplishments, he didn’t identify any single point as the pinnacle of his career. Rather, he treasured the relationships he formed.
“The threads of the lives of teachers, mentors, colleagues, residents, students and patients, interwoven with my life thread, give pattern and beauty to the tapestry of my life,” wrote Winterscheid. “It is beyond imagining.”
