He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Mary JoAnn Strout, and by his five children, Jim, Julie, Jan, Jerry, and Jon, 14 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. He was a devoted husband and father.
James was a graduate of West High School, the University of Utah, and Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He specialized in radiation oncology and chaired the Department of Radiation Medicine at Loma Linda University for more than 20 years.
He had a strong belief that God and family were the foundation of inspiration and creativity, and he always put family first. He had a passion for teaching, inspired by his mother and third-grade teacher. His teaching skills were superb and were not limited to classrooms; he used everyday examples as opportunities of how to learn and solve problems. He approached life from the point of view that everything he did was an example of how one should live.
As a physician his overarching quality was compassion, derived from observations and experiences of patients’ suffering; this led him to create and implement new concepts in radiation medicine treatment planning. Specifically, he led the development of a planning system that incorporated digital data taken directly from patients, improving the accuracy and precision of radiotherapy plans and making possible treatment methods, such as IMRT and proton radiation therapy, that exploited the precision of these plans. His pioneering planning system led to numerous national and international awards. Following that innovation, he conceptualized and led a team of physicians, physicists, and health-care professionals to create and build the proton accelerator and treatment center at Loma Linda University in California. This facility, the first proton system in the world dedicated to treating patients, also resulted in many national and international awards. Nonetheless, Dr. Slater’s humility and concern for patients remained the core of his practice as a physician, qualities that were very inspiring to colleagues and everyone who met him.
One of his greatest joys in life was to see family, colleagues, and students excel and achieve their goals. He will be sorely missed by family, friends, colleagues, and patients for his vision, leadership, clear thinking, and compassion.
Memorial Services will be held at 2PM Saturday January 5 at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary on 3401 S Highland Drive Salt Lake City.
