Warner Slack ’55

Warner, a visionary physician who believed the patient to be the largest and least-utilized resource in health care, died June 23, 2018, of pulmonary fibrosis in Newton, Mass. He was 85.

He was born June 10, 1933, the son of Dr. Charles M. Slack in East Orange, N.J. At Princeton he majored in biology, joined Tiger Inn, and earned letters in freshman and junior varsity football. He roomed with Verne McConnell, Thomas Lauer, and James Lynn.

With remarkable clarity, Warner foresaw both the extent and the limitations of what computers could contribute to medicine. His steadfast belief was that information technology, “implemented wisely and well,” could empower both physicians and patients. His response to those who feared that doctors would be replaced by computers was that such doctors, if there were any, should have gone into another profession.

A captain in the Air Force in the Philippines during the 1960s, Warner and wife Carolyn made fast friends. He is remembered for his warmth, optimism, gentleness, and generosity.

Happiest spending time with Carolyn in their cabin on Meddybemps Lake in Maine, Warner died in his hospital bed in the arms of his beloved wife on their 62nd wedding anniversary. He will be remembered, in the words of Ralph Nader, as “a many-splendored medical doctor in an age of specialization and amorality.”