Dr. Art Warner’s kids sometimes wondered whether their dad “was really a doctor” because he was rarely in a local hospital or in a white coat, said his wife, Natalie Warner.
Art Warner, who died Aug. 8 at age 82, spent his life working in neighborhood health clinics, setting up well-baby clinics and working with poor people in Denver, the Southwest or Chile.
And when he wasn’t tending to migrant workers or Navajo Indians, he was out protesting war and nuclear arms.
It was “eye-opening” for Dan Warner, Art Warner’s son, when he accompanied his dad to well-baby clinics he was establishing in Durango. The poverty was startling – Dan Warner had never seen homes with dirt floors. Art Warner also set up training programs for practical nurses, who then set up programs for mentally ill patients.
Dan Warner said his father “led by example” and never lectured his children about social-justice issues. Dan Warner, of Aurora, works with the working poor through the Denver Housing Authority.
He and his five siblings also accompanied their father and mother to peace vigils during the Vietnam War, often standing at the intersection of East First Avenue and University Boulevard.
Art Warner was a pacifist, as his father, Earl Warner, had been in World War I. He was long active with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker social-services organization. Art Warner’s values “were instilled in him,” said another son, Kee Warner of Colorado Springs.
Dan Warner said sometimes his father had only one companion protester as he stood outside Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) protesting the nuclear buildup.
“He always hoped his actions would change society,” said Dan Warner.
Arthur Warner was born Dec. 11, 1923, in Tucson and entered medical school at the University of Pennsylvania after three years of college. He earned his master’s degree in public health at Harvard University.
On June 15, 1944, he married Natalie Carrillo, whom he had known since they were in junior high school. They lived in Seattle, Boston and Brigham City, Utah, before moving to Durango, where he became director of a three-county health department.
When they moved to Denver, Warner and Sam Johnson set up neighborhood health clinics.
From 1973 to 1976, Warner set up clinics in Chile.
In addition to his wife and sons, Art Warner is survived by three daughters: Joy Warner, Marcia Cornejo and Ruth Warner, all of Denver; and 13 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Marcos Warner.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at vculver@denverpost.com or 303-820-1223.
