Originally from North Rustico, passed away peacefully June 13, 2016, at his Rochester, Minnesota home, surrounded by the love and care of his family. Dr. Woolner was an extraordinary man who touched many lives. One of eight children of Benjamin C. and Ella B. Woolner, he grew up acquainted with the hard work of farming life, plowing the fields with a team of draft horses in the days before the arrival of the tractor. Educated in a one-room schoolhouse, he graduated gold medalist from Prince of Wales College, then went on to earn his medical degree from Dalhousie. At Dalhousie he met his future wife, Laura Stanley. Dr. Woolner came to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 1945, joining the staff in 1948, where he worked as a surgical pathologist for 37 years until his retirement in 1985. Over his career he was recognized worldwide for his outstanding contributions to the field of surgical pathology. He published several hundred medical papers and book chapters, received numerous awards, and served as pathologist for surgeries on the President of the United States, Lyndon Johnson. Dr. Woolner had many interests, among them poetry. Endowed with an exceptional memory, he memorized the first book of Milton's Paradise Lost and could recite long passages of Shakespeare, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Milne. Although he enjoyed traveling the world and made many enduring friendships from all over the globe, he never broke ties with his boyhood home of Prince Edward Island, and spent all his summers there during retirement. A proud and meticulous gardener, he entertained visitors over the years with healthy meals he cooked himself from his own produce and fresh-caught Prince Edward Island fish. He had an infectious charm that touched countless people whom he would regale for hours with anecdotes, jokes, memories, poetry and advice. Most of all, he was a loving and caring husband, father and grandfather. Dr. Woolner was preceded in death by his wife, Laura Stanley Woolner, and grand-daughter, Katherine, and is survived by his five children and their spouses: Elizabeth Anne, Nancy, Lewis Allan (Krisanne), David (Meliza), and Stanley (Sophea). He has six living grandchildren: Maia, Leah, Clara, Ted, Nadia and Abraham. He is survived by his sister Helen Woolner. A memorial service will be held at the United Church of Canada, Cavendish, Sunday August 7, at 3:00 p.m.

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