WARREN GUNTHEROTH was a giant in the field of medicine who came from humble roots. Born in his grandmother’s house in Hominy, Okla., he was the son of an oil-field worker. After attending Harvard Medical School on scholarship, he joined the UW School of Medicine faculty in 1957, founded the Department of Pediatric Cardiology and wrote the first medical textbook on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Guntheroth also wrote more personal books. He wrote Paradise Found and Lost about his first marriage of 52 years. An inveterate climber who loved hiking the Cascades, he published a book about his Husky and their adventures called Climbing With Sasha. He was very fond of his dogs.

On Sept. 17, Guntheroth suffered a heart attack at his office at UW Medical Center. Like the passionate teacher he was, Guntheroth was giving directions to ER staff up to the end. He was 85.—Julie Garner