Warner, Huber Richard
May 16, 1936 – October 12, 2019
Age 83 of St. Paul. Huber Richard Warner, 83, died suddenly Oct. 12, 2019 in St. Paul, MN. He was born in Glendale, OH on May 16, 1936 – son of Richard and Katherine Root Warner, brother to his sister, Frances, and survived by sons Geoffrey (’64) (wife, Dawn), Peter (’67) and 3 granddaughters: Chloe, Laurel and Alexandra.Educated at Williams College and MIT (’57), with a PhD in lipid biochemistry from U of Michigan (’62), he was faculty and department head at U of MN in ’64 until ’84, researching nucleic acid biochemistry and serving as. He served at National Institute on Aging at NIH: Chief for Molecular and Cell Biology, ’85-’88, Deputy Associate Director Biology of Aging, ’89-’00, and Associate Director, ’00-’05. As a respected scientist and an administrator, Huber had a major role in creating new progressive programs, and encouraging the important research of a whole generation of scientists in the biology of aging. He returned to U of MN as Associate Dean of Research in 2004 until 2010. Many letters received from collegues and freinds around the country went somthing like this one: “…For the contributions he made as director of the Biology of Aging Program at the NIA, one of his most impactful contributions was the establishment of the NIA’s Interventions Testing Program, nia.nih.gov/research/dab/…, which was designed to identify drugs that extend healthy life and lifespan in mice, as a preclinical program that could ultimately benefit humanity. This program has been successful beyond my and others’ expectations — so much so that it is entering its 4th successful 5-year funding cycle. Of equal importance, in my view, were your father’s traits of fairness, generosity, honesty and humility. He was a good man.” Or this one, from a postdoc biochemist who worked in a lab after Huber’s and then became critically important to her new advisor receiving the Nobel Prize: “I remember Huber with both respect and fondness. As one of his former graduate students, I deeply recognize and appreciate the value of the education I received while working in his lab. He gave me a project that was so well defined I got a running start – a heady experience sure to ensure that I was hooked on research for life. It was a project well suited to a fledgling graduate student and it taught me the principles of good experimentation and analysis. Even more wonderful was his ability to stand back and let me take my first stabs at scientific independence. By the end of my almost four years in the Warner lab, I had the knowledge, the experimental muscle memory, and the courage to tackle new projects in an exciting and competitive environment. I couldn’t have asked for a better foundation upon which to begin an independent career. Perhaps, more important were the ephemeral values that Huber espoused and exposed all of us to. The intellectual enjoyment of a well-designed experiment, the fun of working with your own hands to learn something, and the complete and totally addictive joy in discovery. Huber was an excellent scientist who maintained a childlike delight in the doing of science throughout his career. Even later when he became an administrator, any conversation would quickly turn to the exciting new research of his NSF grantees or colleagues at the university. Huber has left a wonderful legacy of grateful former students, grantees, and colleagues. His was a warm steady light that lifted the spirits of all who worked with him, all while maintaining the highest of scientific ideals. He will be sorely missed. I will raise a glass of glogg in his honor.” An avid sailor and athlete, Huber was a generous volunteer coaching youth sports, or at the University independent living community where he lived out his last years. While at MIT, he played lacrosse and was MVP (!!!) of the MIT soccer team. Not bad for a scientist. Even though Huber grew up in warm winter climes, he moved to Minnesota with his wife Patricia in the 60s, when Real Winters were still to be appreciated. He started to play ice hockey for the first time in his 30s so that he could do it with his sons, stood in the snow banks, coached PeeWees for several years, and ended up playing hockey all the way into his 60s, bad knees and all. There were also annual ski trips Out West in which the whole family participated, helping to establish a love for excercise and The Great Outdoors that infected all. Summer Sundays were spent racing Sunfish sailboats on Lake Nokomis…a pleasant enough experience in nice weather (the whole family would go), but maybe not so much in the rain or cold, and one that the kids especially vetched about over time. Despite that, son Geoffrey became additcted to wind sports later in life when Huber gave him a windsurfer bought at Comb Warehouse on sale – that no one knew how to sail. (According to Geoffrey that turned out to be The Best Gift Ever, and one that G would try to foist on anyone who would listen.) Huber was also an Eagle Scout, and shared his outdoor knowledge with his sons and Troop 17 in scouting for many years. Home was perhaps most identified with Cawaja Beach in Ontario. He met first wife and lifelong friend, Patricia there when they were 6. Both families ended up having cottages next door to each other, and those cottages are still kept that way today. Next door in 2005, Huber built a new modern (!) cottage (the weeHouse) which has also helped keep multiple generations grounded there. Big communal dinners on long tables – with whomever was around – was a way to return and connect with family almost annually for their entire lives, including this year. His final email was about his love for The Cottage. Our father, former husband, brother, grandfather, uncle, cousin, neighbor, colleague, teacher, mentor, and friend was a kind thoughtful gentle man.Memorial: Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1pm, University of Minnesota Cargill Building, 1500 Gortner Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55108.Tributes in Huber’s name to fund a student working on mechanisms of aging can be made online at: makingagift.umn.edu/give/… or via mail to: Huber Warner Fellowship in Molecular Biology, University of Minnesota Foundation 200 Oak Street SE, #500 Mpls, MN 55455. (Published in the Star Tribune October 27, 2019)