William "Bill" Stoneman, M.D.: 1927-2017
08/02/2017
William “Bill” Stoneman III, former dean of Saint Louis University School of Medicine, died Aug. 1, 2017. He was 89.
Dr. Stoneman served as an associate dean at the School of Medicine from 1973 to 1976; as an executive associate dean from 1976 to 1982, and as the dean and associate vice president from 1982 to 1994.
Stoneman graduated from Saint Louis University in 1948 and from SLU School of Medicine in 1952. After an internship in Kansas City, he returned to St. Louis in 1953 for residencies in surgery at Saint Louis University Hospital.
In 1957, Dr. Stoneman was named the first resident in plastic surgery at Saint Louis University.
Following his residency, Dr. Stoneman opened his private practice focusing on cleft palate reconstruction in children, while also serving as a volunteer faculty member at SLU.
He organized and directed the Bi-State Regional Medical Program (1969) and the Saint Louis University School of Medicine Learning Resource Center (1975). Throughout his career he held affiliations with numerous national and international surgical and medical college associations.
“He was a consummate gentleman who was thoughtful, considerate and a good listener,” said Robert Heaney, M.D., assistant vice president for medical affairs and CEO of SLUCare Physician Group. “He was a good dean who led the School of Medicine through difficult times.”
Heaney added that Stoneman founded the clinical practice of the School of Medicine. “He set the stage for the growth and success of SLU’s School of Medicine,” Heaney said.
Raymond Slavin, M.D., professor emeritus of allergy and immunology, called Stoneman a “renaissance man.”
“He produced beautiful watercolors,” Slavin recalled. “He had a love for art, literature and history. He quoted literature and he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of SLU’s School of Medicine.”
Slavin said Stoneman also had a “delicious sense of humor.”
“Years ago Good Housekeeping published a list of the 100 best doctors in America and I somehow made the list,” Slavin recalled. “Bill sent me a box with a tiara, a scepter and a necklace he made that had the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on it.”
Stoneman is survived by his children, William Laurence (Melissa) Stoneman, Cecily Anne Stoneman Erker, Elizabeth Wilson Stoneman and John Spalding Stoneman; and his grandchildren Cecily, Lynden and William Erker.
He was preceded in death by his child, Sidney Camdon Stoneman; his wife Bette Jo (Elizabeth Johanna Wilson); and his sister Dorothy Jean Wonder. To read a full obituary, click here.
Stoneman was fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church on July 28, 2017, as bestowed by Father Jim Tobin, former pastoral priest for the School of Medicine.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, August 5, at Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church. The church is located at 401 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis MO 63131.
Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, 1465 Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63104.