Micah 6:8 – “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God”
Loren Covart Winterscheid, M.D., Ph.D., FACS, Professor Emeritus, Surgery, University of Washington, passed away on December 22, 2017. His wife, Muriel Oliver Winterscheid, predeceased him in February 2017.
His surviving children include John Winterscheid of Seattle, Washington; Gail Winterscheid of Mercer Island, Washington; Laurel Robinson of Alameda, California; Genevieve Matteson of Olympia, Washington; and George Winterscheid of Portland, Oregon. His beloved daughter, Ann Wright, predeceased him in 2016. In addition to his children and their spouses, Loren is survived by numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and his sister Joyce Newhouse of Big Canoe, GA.
Born on October 5, 1925, to Claude and Isal Winterscheid in Manhattan, KS, Loren grew up primarily in Idaho. In 1942 at the age of 16, Loren started attending Willamette University, in Salem, OR. In the fall of 1944, Loren was drafted and served in Europe until 1946. He returned to Willamette University, met Muriel, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948.
Loren was initiated into Sigma Xi and was a Founding Member of Phi Beta Kappa at Willamette. Upon graduation, he followed Muriel to Philadelphia, where they both attended University of Pennsylvania graduate programs. They were married December 30, 1948. At the University of Pennsylvania, Loren was a Pre-doctoral fellow with the American Trudeau Society. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Medical Microbiology and his M.D. from the School of Medicine.
In 1954, Loren and Muriel moved to Seattle to begin his medical and administrative career. Loren began his internship at King County Hospital. He completed his residency in Surgery at the University of Washington, Affiliated Hospitals in 1961.
At the University of Washington School of Medicine, Loren rose in faculty and hospital positions from Assistant in Surgery to Professor of Surgery; Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs; Professor Emeritus of Surgery; Assistant to the Dean for Risk Management & Special Projects; Consultant Surgeon for Group Health Medical Center and Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center; Attending Surgeon at University of Washington Medical Center and Harborview; and Medical Director of University of Washington Medical Center.
Loren’s areas of research and interest included pump-oxygenator systems and their clinical applications; myocardial metabolism and revascularization; professional liability and insurance; legislative tort reform; and improving the lives of individuals in all walks of life.
Loren was a member of the American Medical Association, Seattle Surgical Society, King County Medical Society, North Pacific Surgical Association, American College of Surgeons, Pacific Coast Surgical Society and American Association of University Professors, and an advisor to the Washington State Supreme Court Novack Commission. As a member of the Washington State Medical Association, Loren served as Chairman, Council of Member Services; Vice President; Steering Subcommittee on Medical Malpractice Campaign; Chairman, Subcommittee on Tort Reform (Subcommittee effort’s culminated in enactment by the Washington State Legislature of tort reform legislation); Liability Reform Committee. Loren served as a member, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Washington State Physicians Insurance Association (Physician-Owned, Medical Association Sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Corporation, Est 1981) which became Physician Insurance A Mutual Company.
In 1960, Loren was nominated by fellow alumni to the Willamette University Board of Trustees. As a Trustee, he served on the Executive Committee, was Chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, and become a Life Board Member in 2001. Loren was a member of the R.A. Booth Society and awarded the Leslie J. Sparks Medallion.
Loren’s areas of research and interest reached outside of his medical and administrative career. Loren was a member of the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon and was involved with the Stevens Ministry. Several years after Muriel’s father, George L. Oliver passed away; Loren along with Muriel became orchardists, the owners of Skye Ranch, on Cherry Hill near Granger, WA. Research into planting, cultivating, harvesting, marketing and creating a “chilled fruit storage, sorting, packing” system, enabled Skye Ranch to produce on an average, 150 tons of dark red sweet cherries.
At Kihei, Maui, as an owner of condos at Hale Kamaole, Loren’s research expanded to include whale watching, snorkeling, boogie boarding, participating nightly as a member of the Hale Kamaole Conch Band, observing the optical phenomena of green flashes, and sitting on the beach with Muriel.
Research on Eternity is now ongoing with Muriel Oliver Winterscheid.
Muriel, my dear –
“This I will remember,
When the rest of life is through:
The finest thing I’ve ever done
Is simply loving you.”
Robert Sexton
Services will be held at the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9, 2018. Remembrances in lieu of flowers may be made to Willamette University – Office of Advancement, c/o the Loren and Muriel Winterscheid Scholarship Fund, 900 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301.
