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In Memoriam

Class of 1958 (Graduate Prosthodontics)

DR. MYRON E. WARNICK, GRADUATE PROSTHODONTICS 1958

Dr. Myron WarnickDr. Myron Eugene Warnick, a mainstay of the School’s Restorative Dentistry faculty for 52 years, passed away peacefully at his home on May 26, 2016 after an extended illness. He was 82.

Dr. Warnick was born in Rosthern, Saskatchewan to Eugene and Mary Warnick. His father and paternal grandparents emigrated from the Ukraine to Saskatchewan in 1914 to escape the growing tensions of pre-WWI Europe. The family was lured to the prairie provinces of Canada by the promise of homesteading and the likeness of the area to their homeland.

Dr. Warnick’s love and appreciation of learning was instilled at an early age. He spent his early childhood years in the classrooms of his parents, who taught grades K-12 in a two-room schoolhouse in Rosthern.

When not in the classrooms, he could often be found with his nose in a novel or comic book somewhere on the family farm. After graduating from high school at age 16, he headed to the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In 1955 at age 22, he graduated first in his class with a BS in chemistry and a DDS.

Dr. Warnick began his dental practice in Edmonton and after two years moved to Seattle to become an instructor in Restorative Dentistry at the School. Soon after, he and several of his former University of Alberta classmates formed the Vancouver Society of Restorative Dentistry. Dr. Warnick trekked from Seattle to Vancouver on a quarterly basis for nearly five decades to mentor young dentists, lecture on restorative dentistry and share in the camaraderie of lifelong friends. He was promoted to associate professor (with tenure) in 1959 and to full professor in 1961. Soon after, he opened his private practice.

However, his true passion was teaching and mentoring dental students at the UW, which he did until his retirement in 2009. He wrote teaching manuals for pre-clinical, clinical and laboratory courses – some of which remained in use in 2016. In 1999, he received emeritus standing and in 2008, he received the Bruce R. Rothwell Lifetime Achievement in Teaching Award. He headed the Division of Fixed Prosthodontics for more than a decade and also served as acting Chair of Restorative Dentistry in 1966-67, 1970-71 and 1977-78.

Dr. Warnick was an avid fisherman who frequented Westport for salmon excursions. He made an annual pilgrimage to Janice Lake with several of his study club members, known affectionately as the “Looney Birds.” In 2009, the Looney Birds celebrated their 50th anniversary of the Janice Lake trip. Though he was not always able to make the trip, he was always there in spirit. He and Nola, his wife of 22 years, frequently traveled up and down the West Coast and to Hawaii and Mexico. In 1989, the couple purchased a motor home and pursued further adventures at places including Mount Zion, the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon. Dr. Warnick will be remembered for his abilities as a teacher, mentor and clinician. He was the consummate storyteller and a master of delivering jokes.

Dr. Warnick is survived by his children Ronald (Ana), Richard and Roberta; stepdaughters Jacqueline (Dave) Coulter and Michelle Chartier; stepson Richard Chartier; grandchildren Katarina, Keelin, Kevin, Peter and Dylan; and sister Irene. (Seattle Times)