Werner Uri Spitz, 97, of Grosse Pointe Shores passed away on April 14, 2024. He was born in Stargard, Germany (now Poland) to Dr. Siegfried and Anna Spitz on August 22, 1926. As a Jewish family living in pre-World War II Germany, Werner’s parents listened closely to the rising antisemitic rhetoric across the country and sent Werner to live with his Aunt Frieda in Paris at age 7. The following year, Siegfried and Anna arrived in Paris to pick up Werner and begin the 2,500+ mile journey across the Mediterranean to what would later become Israel. On the boat were more than 900 Jewish physicians and their families, making the trek to avoid the whispers of a Jewish genocide.
Upon arrival, Werner’s mother went to the Arabic markets, where she listened to the local people converse and barter. Anna had a gift for learning languages and quickly picked up Arabic.
By the time Werner and his parents arrived, there was no work for another Jewish doctor, so Siegfried established a medical practice at their home working with Arabic patients. As patients arrived, they were greeted by Anna, who now spoke Arabic fluently from her weeks spent at the markets. Anna would listen to the person’s illness or injury, then translate it from Arabic to German so that Siegfried could treat the patient. This is where Werner developed his deep-rooted passion for medicine.
Werner would go on to attend medical school at the Geneva University Medical School in Switzerland, finishing his training at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, Israel. Through his travels, studies, and mother Anna, Werner became fluent in 5 languages: German, French, Hebrew, Arabic, and English. This would prove useful as during a final oral examination in Geneva, Werner could not remember the French words he needed to answer the final professor's question… but he knew the answer in Hebrew. As he told the story: “Professor, I know the answer to this question, but I only know it in Hebrew.” The professor stood, “Does anyone in the back speak Hebrew?” Then, a pause. “I do,” responded a student towards the back of the class. The order of oral exams were chosen at random and the examinations were open forum, so students that had yet to be tested would stand in the back and listen. “OK” responded the professor, “say the answer in Hebrew, and you in the back translate it to French.” Another pause.
Werner was ecstatic when the professor said, “You passed.” Werner later stated, “To this day I have no idea if I answered the question correctly, or if the student in the back of the classroom helped out his foreign counterpart.”
After graduating medical school and completing his mandatory service requirement in the Israel Defense Forces, Werner relocated to the United States (Baltimore, Maryland) in 1959 to further his training in forensic science. One of his friends from Israel was also working in Baltimore and knew a young nurse named Anne Keates. Werner and Anne were set up for a blind date. As he told the story: “She was so elegant and beautiful I proposed to her on our first date… she laughed and we carried on.” As the date continued it was time for dessert. “Anne politely declined, but I couldn’t resist the strawberry shortcake.” Once dessert arrived, Anne reached her fork across the table to pick up a berry—it became her routine to not order dessert but take a bite or two from others that arrived at the table—after removing the strawberry from his plate it fell off her fork, into his wine glass, knocking the remaining wine on his shirt and necktie. “I’m so sorry Uri, let me please take that and pay to have it dry cleaned,” Anne proclaimed. “No, no, no… no problem at all,” Werner confidently responded, “I have a whole closet of these at home.” He was awake all night cleaning his only tie to wear to work the next morning.
Two years later, in 1961, Werner and Anne were married in Chipping Sodbury, England. They moved to West Berlin, Germany, where they had their first child, a daughter, Rhona. Ten months after Rhona’s birth, in November, 1963, the young family returned to Baltimore where Werner was named the Assistant Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland. They had two more children, Jonathan (1966) and Daniel (1969). The family of five remained in Baltimore until 1972. This is when Werner was offered the Chief Medical Examiner position in Wayne County—an opportunity to become the Chief Medical Examiner in Detroit, then the “Murder Capital.”
Werner served as the Wayne County Chief Medical Examiner until 1988. During his tenure in Wayne County, he also began doing autopsies in Macomb County, later serving as the Macomb County Chief Medical Examiner, a position he held until 2004, when his son, Dr. Daniel Spitz, took over. Upon leaving Macomb County, Werner focused his attention on his private forensic pathology practice, which he continued, full time, well into 2024.
Werner was a professor of pathology at Wayne State University School of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Toxicology at the University of Windsor. He was also the 1997 recipient of the Dean’s Award for Service to the Medicolegal Community from the Wayne State University School of Medicine.
Werner is known as an author and editor of the Medicolegal Investigation of Death, the “bible” of forensic pathology. He published the first edition in 1973 and the most recent edition (fifth) in 2020. He also authored more than 100 scientific articles.
Although Werner is remembered for some of his more high-profile cases, like serving on the House Committee on Assassinations investigating the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., acting as an expert witness in the Mary Jo Kopechne trial, the O.J. Simpson civil trial, the Casey Anthony criminal trial, identifying all 156 bodies on Northwest Airlines Flight 255, and many others, Werner’s greatest accomplishment was answering questions from countless grieving families during their most difficult times.
Anyone who knew Werner would know he never said no to dinner, regardless of
whether it was out on the town (steak or sushi), a home cooked meal from Anne, or a late night boiled hotdog, he never passed up an opportunity to have one of his favorite meals. He loved drinking great red wine, Guinness from the can, rum and Coke, and (of course) ice cold vodka. He loved action films, family vacations in Puerto Vallarta, hearing of his grandchildren’s successes, and so much more.
Of all the things Werner was known for, captaining a boat was absolutely not one of them. If you haven’t heard the story of The Afternoon Delight, ask around. Aside from his storied 65-year career and being the “founding father” of modern forensics, Werner will always be remembered as a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He is preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Siegfried and Dr. Anna Spitz, and his sister, Dr. Karni Frank. He is survived by his wife Anne; daughter Rhona (Douglas) Dempsey; sons Dr. Jonathan (Jlynn) Spitz and Dr. Daniel (Jodi) Spitz; and grandchildren Maiya, Darian, Jared, and Reis Dempsey, Jaden, Julien, Jackson, Keegan, Jacob, and Addison Spitz.
The family is holding a private funeral service, with a celebration of life to take place in the summer.
Donations in his name may be made to the following organizations:
Wayne State University
For the Werner U. Spitz M.D. Endowed Scholarship in Pathology
PO Box 441970
Detroit, MI 48244-1970
or
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation
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