Dr. Werner Edmund Fritz Langheim

Dr. Werner Edmund Fritz Langheim, husband, father, surgeon and friend, died peacefully on July 29, 2019. Born in Berlin in 1928 as the only child of Leo and Frieda, he led a life near bursting with experiences, from escaping Russian-occupied Berlin beneath a train, to opening the first private neurosurgical practice in Madison. His early schooling was in Berlin and, due to the war, Joachimsthal, which he always noted for its fame as the source of the word ""dollar"" and of the ore from which Marie Curie discovered radium. In Jáchymov (now part of Czechia) he learned to ski as well as to sneak out of his third-story dormitory window at night.

After the war, the family moved to Hamburg where he helped support them by working for a fishmonger while earning his MD/PhD at the university. Not to be outdone by his girlfriend who chose to study in London, he attended internship at St. Francis Hospital, in Wichita, Kansas, with a Fulbright travel grant. There he treated US veterans at the VA and met President Eisenhower. He considered studying cardiac surgery with Dr. Walton Lillehei at the University of Minnesota, but fell in love with neurosurgery and was offered a residency at the Mayo Clinic, where he proudly declared having earned 25 cents an hour while living in the hospital as one of the ""house-staff."" On a trip to Madison for a conference, he attended a dance in the Great Hall of The Memorial Union. Men lined up on one side and women on the other. He stood across from the tallest woman (in his retelling, other men were intimidated by her beauty) and they danced, unable to understand each other for his accent and over the music.

He moved to Madison for further neurosurgical training at UW Hospitals and later became Chief of Neurosurgical Services at Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. In 1970 he established a private practice in neurology and neurosurgery which he ran until retirement.

During his early career at the UW, he again saw the woman from the dance, Judy; she frequently visited her aunt whom he had treated. He asked a nurse for the niece's number (in case he needed to contact family) and later asked Judy out. On that first date they washed his VW Beetle. On their second date they went to the Top Hat restaurant in Middleton where he asked her if she wanted her steak well done (a deal breaker for him) and was pleased she wanted it medium rare. They were married in 1963. Together they had three sons whom he taught to ski and sail, a love he had since childhood. Vacationing in Rhinelander at a friend's cottage in Sugar Camp and sailing on his boat, Catalyst, were annual events and time with family away from his 24-7 surgeon's life. After a second heart attack, which led to double bypass surgery, he was known to run six miles a day up and down The Lane, in his Lederhosen. When people would comment on his thoracotomy scar, he referred to it as his ""skateboard accident."" He would leave his diesel car running while shopping and avoided using brakes before turns by slowing down early to ""not wear them out.""

After Judy's unexpected death in 1993, he was fortunate to find love again, with Terry Boyd. They married in 1997. They shared a love of travel, including an epic journey throughout China where Terry was lecturing and where he had longed to visit. He particularly wanted to see Dalian, where his father had been stationed in WWI. There, while walking, they encountered a Chinese monk who spoke German and was in Dalian during the same time as Werner's father. The monk shared stories and showed Werner an artillery bunker from the war, now hidden on a hillside. Germans founded Tsingtao Brewery in Dalian in 1903, and its product became his beer of choice for many years.

He weathered significant losses: both parents; his first wife, Judy; and his youngest son, Leo, to cancer on Thanksgiving Day 2010. He is survived by his wife, Terry; eldest son, Werner (Stacey); middle son, Fred (Julia); daughter-in-law, Christy; and grandchildren Jonathan, Molly, Henry, Oliver and Zoey. Werner was one-of-a-kind, a truly unforgettable and unique character who spoke his mind without concern for consequences and possessed a kind heart paired with an imp's playfulness. In his nearly 91 years, Werner touched many lives through his surgical skills, teaching, parenting and so much more. He will be missed.

A drop-in celebration of life to share stories and see old friends will take place Saturday, August 17, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at The Elks Lodge, 711 Jenifer Street, Madison.