Dr. Eric Henry Archibald Whyte, MD died on 24 December 2018 due to advanced urothelial cancer. Eric is survived by his wife Michelle, daughters Acadia, Mateya, and Sadie, and his two sisters, Robin Reisman and Kristin Whyte.
Eric was born on June 8, 1951 in Greenfield, MA to Jim and Hilda Whyte. He attended Mount Hermon preparatory school and graduated in 1969 as a recipient of the school's prestigious Cambridge Prize, annually presented to the most outstanding senior. Eric attended Stanford University and Amherst College, from which he graduated in 1973. That fall, he joined the faculty at Northfield Mount Hermon for one year before returning to Pittsfield to write for UpCountry magazine. In 1975 Eric’s father died from complications after a kidney transplant, which motivated Eric to apply for medical school on a mission to better the medical field with more compassionate and competent care than his father had received. He graduated from medical school at the University of California San Francisco and went on to complete a four-year residency in psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Eric married Michelle Duff in 1986 and they had three daughters. In 1993 Eric moved his family to Pine, Colorado, taking a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center until his health forced him into retirement in 2017. Eric's patient roster at the VA was greater than five hundred veterans. Upon his retirement, Eric was honored by his patients, many of whom believed Dr. Whyte had saved their lives.
During his junior year at Amherst, Eric was diagnosed with the same disease as his father—polycystic kidney disease. In 2001, when it had progressed to the point of being life threatening, his sister Robin selflessly donated her kidney, giving him a new lease on life for 17 more years.
It was finally, cancer and its ill effects, that brought Eric down on Christmas Eve 2018. He died at home, surrounded by his wife and daughters.
Eric lived a selfless life, always giving much more than he took. He will be missed greatly by his family and friends, and the hundreds of patients whom he served.
In recognition of Eric’s devotion to his patients, in lieu of flowers or sympathy cards we ask that donations be made, in his name, to:
The Gary Sinise Foundation
(www.garysinisefoundation.org)
or
Mission 22
A Celebration of Life is planned for the first week of February, 2019
The post Eric H.A. Whyte appeared first on Cremation Society of Colorado.