R. Warner Wood Jr. ’48

Warner, an innovative orthopedic surgeon, died Feb. 27, 2022, at age 96.

Warner grew up in Princeton, where he sometimes delivered groceries to Albert Einstein. He was home-schooled by his father in a rigorous boarding/tutoring environment that led to his admission to Princeton. After enlisting at 17, he served in the Navy Air Corps through the end of World War II, then returned to Princeton and graduated with a degree in biology.

Warner earned a medical degree at the University of Virginia, did his internship and residency in New York, and then practiced medicine for 62 years — until the age of 94 — at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Georgia. His impact was broad: During his residency at Columbia Presbyterian, Warner performed more than 2,000 scoliosis instrumentations, then a new and novel procedure to attach metal rods to the spine to help correct spinal curvature. He performed the first scoliosis instrumentation in Georgia, as well as the first total hip replacement done at St. Joseph’s.

Warner also had the largest number of osteotomies — designed to shorten or lengthen a bone to improve its alignment — of the spine for ankylosing spondylitis in the world. He volunteered his time generously for the Children’s Medical Services program, and his caring approach has been recalled widely.

Warner is survived by his wife of 42 years, Carol; children Wendi McAfee, Randi Spivey, Meggan Wood, and Ryan Warner Wood; and five grandchildren. The Class of 1948 sends its sympathies in memory of our distinguished and accomplished classmate.