Thomas Frederick Collier Spencer Warner MD

Dr. Thomas Frederick Spencer Collier Warner (a.k.a. Tom, TW, Doc, Freddie, Gramps) passed away peacefully following a short illness on January 2, 2025. He was born on November 3, 1941 in Dublin, Ireland. Tom’s early education was in a two-room schoolhouse in rural Ireland. (He enjoyed telling stories of the rats running across the floorboards.) Tom earned his doctorate in medicine in 1965 and subsequently a doctorate in research in 1976, both from National University of Ireland in Galway. In 1972, he received a Fulbright scholarship and was invited to complete his residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where he also finished a fellowship. After his time at Mayo Clinic, he and his family moved back to Ireland where he began his career at Waterford Regional Hospital. Then in 1978, Tom and the family immigrated back to the United States. Following a brief tenure at Indiana University, he joined the Department of Surgical Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he would spend the next 40+ years as a professor and physician. Tom held board certifications in anatomic pathology, dermatopathology, and immunopathology. He authored hundreds of manuscripts, with thousands of citations of his work, reflecting his significant contributions and commitment to the field of medicine. He was a dedicated teacher and mentor for dozens of medical students, residents, and fellows. His family always made a little extra for dinner because they never knew how many guests Tom might invite home from the lab.

Aside from his clinical and academic accomplishments, Tom will be remembered foremost as a champion of the underdog. He advocated for junior faculty, encouraged those pursuing higher education, and crusaded tirelessly for unborn children and marginalized adults. He was deeply rooted in his Roman Catholic faith, which guided his strong moral principles.

Tom had many passions and pursuits. He loved traveling in Europe, particularly Rome, where he rarely missed a beatification or canonization. A self-taught, gifted musician, he played many instruments by ear, including the mandolin, fiddle, banjo, piano, tin whistle, harmonica, accordion, and sitar. When he wasn't playing Irish music, Tom could be heard whistling his tunes. He was also a talented artist, and spent his life painting, drawing, and writing. Tom was deeply interested in getting to know people from all walks of life, especially those with different religious and educational backgrounds from his own. He loved striking up conversations with people who spoke languages other than English. During his illness, he frequently spoke in Gaelic, much to the amusement of his family and care team.

During his brief retirement, Tom read textbooks and science journals voraciously, tended to his community garden plot, whizzed around the neighborhood on his bicycle, wrote and illustrated poetry, and chatted with his siblings and grandchildren. He was in remarkable physical health, and his sudden departure has left family and friends stunned and heartbroken.

Tom’s memory is carried on by his wife of 57 years, Geraldine Warner, and his children, Gemma (Peter Nepokroeff) Warner, Jane (Patrick Nebiolo) Warner, and Nicholas (Jennifer Warner) Warner, and his beloved grandchildren (Philippe, Sascha, Christian, Sophie, Nicholas, Olivia, and Catherine). He is survived by his siblings, Suzanne Martyn, Sylvia Warner, Harry Warner, Genevieve Warner Learmonth, and Lucy Ryan, numerous nieces and nephews, as well as many dear friends, including Matthew Bowman and the “Twin-o’s,” (Carrie Bohman and Christine Bohman-Cina). He was preceded in death by his parents, Claud and Suzanne Warner, and his sister, Catherine Warner.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, January 10, 2025, at BLESSED SACRAMENT CHURCH, 2121 Rowley Avenue, Madison, WI, with Fr. Mark Niehaus presiding. A visitation will take place an hour prior to Mass, from 10:00-11:00 AM, at the church. Tom will be laid to rest at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery. Friends and relatives are invited to a luncheon immediately following the burial at Vintage Brewery, 674 South Whitney Way, Madison, WI.

In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Tom’s memory with a donation to the Missionaries of Charity Sisters, run by the Sisters of Mother Teresa, https://missionariesofcharity.org/contact-us.html

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Please share your memories of Tom by posting in his Guestbook.

Cress Funeral Services

3610 Speedway Road, Madison

(608) 238-3434