DR. HESTER RUMBERG, CLASS OF 1983
Dr. Hester Rumberg, a School of Dentistry alumna and oral and maxillofacial radiologist who taught on the faculty of Oral Medicine from 1983 to 1998, passed away in Toronto on June 26, 2011 at the age of 64.
Dr. Rumberg was also known as the author of Ten Degrees of Reckoning, a 2007 memoir that recounted a tragic nautical accident and its aftermath. Dr. Rumberg’s best friend, Judith Sleavin, was gravely injured and lost her husband and their two children in 1995 during a round-the-world sailing voyage that ended when a freighter collided with their craft off New Zealand. The book told the family’s story and detailed Sleavin’s struggle to carry on with her life after the accident.
Dr. Rumberg received a degree in dental hygiene from the University of Manitoba in 1969. She worked as a hygienist in periodontics and later taught at the University of British Columbia. She went on to earn her DDS at the UW, specializing in oral and maxillofacial radiology.
An experienced ocean sailor herself, Dr. Rumberg joined Judith Sleavin in establishing The Sleavin Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting maritime safety.
DR. KIM STEWART, CLASS OF 1983
Dr. Kim Stewart passed away suddenly on Oct. 26, 2012 in Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak, Wash. He was 56.
Dr. Stewart was born on April 15, 1956 in Provo, Utah, and graduated from Provo High School in 1974. He attended Brigham Young University on a four-year football scholarship and later graduated from the UW School of Dentistry. He retired in July 2012 after 25 years of service as a dentist with the Indian Health Service, Omak Clinic.
Dr. Stewart loved his family, traveling, reading and spending time outdoors, playing sports and enjoying nature.
He is survived by his longtime love, Betty Brown; children, Carly and Matthew; parents, Keith and Nancy; brothers, Brent (Karen) and Jon (Lisa); and sister, Jan (Kevin) Schindler.