Daniel W. Platt, MD

My father died on Friday. When he retired from the practice of medicine in 2002 at age 76, the hospital where he had worked so hard for 48 years named its surgery and emergency room wing after him. In the Daniel W. Platt building, next to his bust, is a plaque with an inscription that reads, in part: "A Gifted Man; A Consummate Physician; An Outstanding Example for All." That, along with having been a wonderful father and husband, pretty much sums it up.

Dad's death has been covered in the local press, including The Alton Telegraph ("Pioneering Physician Dr. Daniel Platt dies at age 83"); The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ("Dr. Daniel Platt, physician at Alton Memorial, dies") and The St. Louis Beacon ("Daniel Wall Platt, M.D.; a pioneer in anesthesiology").

We give thanks for the life of a good man, well-lived.