William Q. Sturner

Dr. William Q. Sturner, beloved husband of Dorthe Sturner and father of Harold and Jan Sturner, passed away on December 9, 2016. He was 82 years old and lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Dr. Sturner, who went by "Bill," was the former Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Arkansas and had been a recognized forensic pathologist for nearly forty years before his retirement. He was a devoted grandfather to his sons children and was a sports fan with an allegiance to the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Vikings.
Bill Sturner was the son of Gertrude and Harold Sturner and was raised in Waseca, Minnesota. He attended Sacred Heart Catholic School for 12 years and graduated from the high school in 1952 with the honors of Salutatorian. He played basketball and football and was involved in the glee club, boys quintet, dramatics and editing of the school paper and annual. According to the Waseca newspaper covering his graduation, Bill Sturner already knew at that time he would attend college and was interested in studying law and science. His father, an attorney, and mother had always stressed the importance of education.
Bill Sturner went on to earn his college degree from St. Thomas University and then pursued a medical degree, internship and residency in Pathology at St. Louis University. In 1962, he began studies as a Fulbright Scholar in London, England and, soon after, became a Fellow in Legal Medicine and Toxicology at the University of Kentucky. In 1964, he was hired as an Assistant Medical Examiner with the City of New York where he trained with some of the leading forensic pathologists at that time.
During the next four decades, Dr. Sturner pursued research, teaching, community service and the practice of forensic medicine in furtherance of improving public health. He was certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic, Forensic and Clinical Pathology and served as President, and then Chairman of the Board, of the National Association of Medical Examiners. Throughout his career, Dr. Sturner served on multiple task forces and advisory committees on child abuse, adolescent suicide, alcohol abuse, AIDS, infant mortality and missing children. Along the way, he was recognized by his colleagues with the Outstanding Service Award from the National Association of Medical Examiners and the Milton Helpern Award, Section of Pathology and Biology, American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Dr. Sturner was the co-recipient of several research grants to study Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in partnership with Brown University, University of Toronto and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He served on the editorial boards of various forensic medical journals, he authored or co-authored over 100 published research papers, and contributed to numerous books and textbooks in his field. To round out his education in law and science, Dr. Sturner, an educator himself, also received a Diploma of Medical Jurisprudence (D.M.J.) in Pathology from the London Society of Apothecaries, a designation as a Fellow of American College of Physicians (F.A.C.P.), and an Honorary M.A. degree, Ad eundem, from Brown University where he taught at the Medical School for many years.
Bill Sturner will be remembered for his mild-mannered style, his dry wit, his spirited commentary from the sidelines of his sons basketball games, his adoration of classical music, his affinity for oysters and Maine lobster, his avid readership of good books and the New York Times and, of course, his dedication to his family. His interment will take place at the Sturner family burial plot at the Sacred Heart Calvary Cemetery in Waseca, Minnesota.