About
William Whitaker began writing at an older age as a respite from a lifestyle that could not be sustained.
The oldest of two sons, he was born in 1948 to James and Louise Whitaker in Muncie, Indiana. From his father a business executive, he learned the importance of work, honesty and responsibility. His mother provided not only extraordinary maternal attention, but a respect for learning and her formidable intellect.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University and an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine. He did postgraduate work at the Mayo Clinic and Emory University.
His later years were consumed by the practice of cardiology, which included research and teaching duties as well as his clinical responsibilities. He was also involved in the management of a large group of cardiologists and other subspecialists as well as in the formation of a managed care company; experiences which provided an ongoing education into the complexities of healthcare delivery. Unable to tolerate the intrusion of ever larger numbers of bureaucrats with little understanding of medical care or its responsibilities, he retired from practice at age 58 to pursue a life of indolence in the Pacific Northwest.
Dreams of uninterrupted sailing and fishing were quickly dispelled by more serious matters. He has been actively involved in the evaluation and financing of early stage companies primarily in the life sciences and in counselling entrepreneurs in start up companies. He continues board involvement primarily in philanthropy, and when time permits escapes to the outdoors in pursuit of various interest not the least of which is solitude. In the early morning hours he has written historical fiction and reflected on life through the peculiar prism of his own experience.
In all of this, Joan his wife of forty five years has been a bulwark of reason and support and an exemplary mother of their three sons helping them to realize the potential they had been blessed with. The couple has three sons and five grandchildren. They live in Seattle, Washington and Indiana.