David E. Wermer

David is survived by his wife, Anne Marie; children, Elizabeth and Jeffrey; siblings, Charles (Carol), Susan (Steve), Richard (Karen), Dorothy (Jerry), Nancy (Carey), Joseph (Penny), Alice (Tom), and James (Bonnie); his many nieces and nephews; brother-in-law, James, and wife, Barbara; and cousin, Rita. He is preceded in death by his parents, Alfred and Helen; infant brother, Robert; and his beloved cat, Nikolai.

David was born on July 6th, 1950, in Bryan, Ohio. He grew up in nearby Montpelier. David fled the Ohio cornfields for Harvard University where he graduated with an A.B. in 1972. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Virginia (1976) before moving to New York City for a residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx Municipal Hospital Center).

The Bronx brought David love, friendship, and joy. It was during his residency that David met his dear friends, Richard and Julie and David and Stephanie. But most of all, he met his wife, Anne Marie, who, working as a nurse in the same hospital, cornered the shy, young doctor and promptly asked him out on a date. Three months later, on his sister's back porch in Boulder, Colorado, David asked Anne Marie for her hand in marriage. She replied: "what took you so long?" The lovebirds married on October 1st, 1977, and moved to California where David completed his Neonatal Fellowship at the University of California, San Diego.

David dragged Anne Marie, a lifelong New Yorker, kicking and screaming to Austin, Texas, in 1981. Ten days later, his first child, Elizabeth was born, a native Texan, a fact for which Bethy will never quite forgive her parents. Jeffrey came along three years later.

David began to practice medicine at Seton Medical Center Austin in 1981 where he served as Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for many years before retiring in 2011. There, he met his dear friend, Toni Inglis, and they've been arguing ever since. Through his service in the NICU, David touched the lives of thousands of families. A brilliant physician, he set the gold standard for quality of complex neonatal care in Austin. His patients' parents and families cherished his clear communication, judgment, and caring.

But perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the standard he set for his own family. David loved and cherished his wife and children and, in return, they loved and cherished him. Through his quiet example, he showed his family that a life dedicated to others is the highest calling and its own reward. His daughter, Elizabeth, taking this to heart, is the Nursing Co-educator in the very NICU to which he dedicated so much of his life. His son, Jeffrey, attends law school in Denver and will work with the Colorado Public Defenders this summer.

On Father's Day 2014, David was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a grade IV brain cancer. He lived another twenty-one months, often with his cat on his lap and a glass of Blanton's Bourbon in his hand, before succumbing to the disease. His family will never forget the love and generosity extended by their friends Catherine and Clarke Heidrick and Mary and David Garza throughout David's illness.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Seton Fund benefitting the Marialice Shivers Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Seton Medical Center Austin. Donations by mail: The Seton Fund, 1201 W. 38th St., Austin, TX, 78705 (please indicate NICU at SMCA on checks). Online donations: http://www.supportseton.org/give/seton-fund (select Seton Medical Center Austin; then select Marialice Shivers Regional Neonatal Center). The family would like to extend their deepest thanks to the staff of Seton Hospital, Austin Cancer Center, and the Cancer Care Collaborative, especially his doctors, Mateo Ziu, Brian Vaillant, Paiman Ghafoori, and Stephen Bekanich for their expert care and dedication. They would also like to thank Hospice Austin and, especially, the doctors, nurses, and aides at Christopher House for making David's death peaceful and dignified.

We know you're up there somewhere, Dad, getting a great snooze with the cat on your lap. We love you.