Eric Whyte

Dr. Eric Henry Archibald Whyte died on December 24th, 2018 at 3:06 p.m., due to advanced urothelial cancer. Eric is survived by his wife Michelle, daughters Acadia, Mateya, and Sadie, and his two sisters, Robin Reisman and Kristin Whyte.

Eric was born on June 8, 1951 in Greenfield, MA to James and Hilda Whyte. He attended Mount Hermon preparatory school and graduated in 1969 as a recipient of the school's prestigious Cambridge Prize, annually presented to the most outstanding senior. Eric attended Stanford University and Amherst College, from which he graduated in 1973. That fall, he joined the faculty at Northfield Mount Hermon for one year, before returning to Pittsfield to write for UpCountry magazine. In 1975, Eric's father died from complications after a kidney transplant, which motivated Eric to apply for medical school on a mission to better the medical field with more compassionate and competent care than his father had received. He graduated from medical school at the University of California San Francisco and went on to complete a four-year residency in psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Eric married Michelle Duff in 1986 and they had three daughters. Eric and Michelle worked at Bangor Mental Health Institute in Maine from 1987 to 1988. Their daughter, Acadia, was born there. All three, lived in a boat house in Sandy Point, on the Penobscot Bay. From 1988 to 1993, Eric's little family lived in Pueblo, Colorado. While Eric worked at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, his family grew by two, Mateya, and Sadie. In 1993 Eric moved his family to Pine, Colorado, taking a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Eric spent the last few years of his career working at The Golden VA Outpatient Medical Center, until his health forced him into retirement in 2016. Eric's patient roster at the VA was greater than five hundred veterans. Upon his retirement, Eric was honored by his patients, many of whom believed Dr. Whyte had saved their lives. During his junior year at Amherst, like his father, Eric was diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. In 2001, when it had progressed to the point of being life threatening, Eric's sister Robin, selflessly, donated her kidney, giving him a new lease on life for 17 more years.

It was, finally, cancer and its ill effects, that brought Eric down on Christmas Eve 2018. Eric died at home, surrounded by his wife and daughters.

Eric lived a selfless life, always giving much more than he took. He was a man of simple pleasures and humor. He was of the opinion that "the Cheerio is nature's most nearly perfect food" and "there is always room for ice cream." He will be missed greatly by his family and friends, and the hundreds of patients whom he served.

In recognition of Dr. Eric Whyte's devotion to his patients, in lieu of flowers or sympathy cards, we ask that donations be made, in his name, to:

The Gary Sinise Foundation ( www.garysinisefoundation.org ) and

Mission 22 (www.mission22.com)