William B. Zeiler

Dr. Zeiler was a visionary who realized early in his career that pathology was the essential field in the world of medicine, for without correct diagnosis, disease cannot be treated. He was a leader in pushing forward national and international clinical guidelines for best practices in standardized laboratory testing. As he wrote in a 1989 column for the College of American Pathologists (CAP), where he served as President from 1987 until 1989, “Because of our efforts in laboratory testing guidelines issues, we have become the acknowledged leaders in the drive to develop a consensus for all of medicine.”

Dr. Zeiler, born March 21, 1921, studied at the University of Pittsburgh where he received both his Bachelor of Science and his Doctor of Medicine degrees. When he returned to Pitt to do his medical residency, after his military service as chief of medicine at the Eglin Air Force Station Hospital, he recounted in an interview with the College of American Pathologists “I wanted to put a year in the laboratory and reawaken my basic sciences. The result was I never got out of the laboratory.” The work begun at the University of Pittsburgh laboratory became his life in pathology.

He was passionate about excellence of service in laboratory testing, determined to make a basic range of testing available for every patient at a reasonable price, using efficiencies of large-scale laboratory testing to reduce price. As the CAP noted:

While serving as a pathologist for several area hospitals, Dr. Zeiler presciently realized the limitations of individual hospital laboratories. As they grew increasingly automated, each laboratory required expensive equipment even if it only used the technology for one or two tests per day. In a visionary move, Dr. Zeiler recruited 19 fellow pathologists and investors and founded the Clinical Pathology Facility in Pittsburgh. His idea of a referral-based laboratory was a novelty at the time, but Dr. Zeiler’s facility became the first laboratory to have a formal relationship with Mayo Medical Laboratories. Later, it merged with MetPath and other laboratories to become Quest Diagnostics. All the while, Dr. Zeiler continued to look through the microscope, diagnosing patients by analyzing specimens on slides.

His advocacy for excellence in pathology brought him to a national stage with his work for the College of American Pathologists, the world’s largest society of board-certified pathologists, where he served on numerous commissions including as chair of both the Commission of Professional Relations and the Council of Pathology Practice. He then held positions as governor, vice-president and then President of the CAP from 1987-1989. Dr. Zeiler was awarded the CAP Pathologist of the Year in 1990. He traveled the world in his mission to establish international laboratory accreditation standards, determined to make precise, reliable diagnosis a part of every patient’s care worldwide. The CAP now accredits laboratories in more than 50 countries. The CAP’s tribute to him noted that “He was known as an ambassador of medicine who continually advanced the specialty of pathology for the betterment of patient care around the world.”

The global scope of his influence increased with his assumption of the Presidency of the World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (WASPaLM) in 1997, focusing on best practices for patient evaluation and testing methods in underdeveloped areas of the world. A doctor, as well as a humanitarian, one of his key initiatives was bringing first world medical equipment that was being replaced, to third world countries to create a framework of healthcare not known before. He was awarded the WASPaLM’s highest honor, the Gold-headed Cane, at the time of his inauguration as President. His predecessor in this award was Jonas Salk, who successfully developed the world’s first polio vaccine.

He was also given the very rare honor of being inducted into the British Association of Clinical Pathologists in 1977—one of only 13 non-British persons to receive this distinction at that time.

Dr. Zeiler was a visionary leader in pushing forward medical boundaries. He was one of the first to recognize the horizons of nuclear medicine, becoming a member of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and the Pennsylvania College of Nuclear Medicine. He wrote that “the laboratory is approaching the center of medicine where laboratory testing represents the primary diagnostic and even treatment indicator. This is especially true through the exciting developments in molecular medicine.” Dr. Zeiler created the CAP Committee for Molecular Pathology, which set the precedent for a system of pathology subspecialties; work that continues today. He had a far-reaching perspective on the field of medicine generally, in an interview noting: “Advances in medicine tend to blur specialty lines; I view this not as a hazard, but an opportunity.”

The Mayo Clinic was of fundamental importance to Dr. Zeiler and his wife, Gerry, who had trained as a cytology technician at Mayo. Dr. Zeiler was one of the first to establish an affiliation in 1976 with the Mayo Medical Laboratories for a program of test referral, consultation service and educational activity, establishing a model of regional and national cooperation for clinical pathology service. Following Gerry’s premature death from breast cancer, Dr. Zeiler established various scholarship awards in her name, including the Geraldine Colby Zeiler Professorship in Cytopathology at the Mayo Clinic, one of Mayo’s highest honors. He has been very proud over the years to see the world map dotted with the location of the many recipients who are now spreading that knowledge and training thanks to the Professorship in Gerry’s name. The William B. Zeiler, M.D. Professorship in Pathology was also established in his name at the Mayo Clinic, and will likewise have a worldwide impact.

Dr. Zeiler’s philanthropic reach extended to the College of American Pathologists, where he established a generous trust for its philanthropic arm, the CAP Foundation. Its signature program – See, Test & Treat ® provides free cancer screening, health education and connection to health care providers to underserved women in communities across the United States. He also created a named endowment, The Geraldine and William Zeiler, MD Fund for Pathology Research, at the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical School.

The beat of jazz accompanied him throughout his life, from playing piano in jazz clubs all over Pittsburgh to finance medical school, to jamming with top professionals in cities all over the world. He was passionate about jazz, playing daily on his beloved Fazioli concert grand piano. One of his favorite trips was visiting the Fazioli piano atelier outside of Venice, where he was given a private tour by Signor Fazioli, shown every stage of the construction of his pianos and invited to play the Fazioli piano in the private concert hall. Dr. Zeiler was a lifetime member of the famed Pittsburgh Musicians Union Local 60-471; an organization he supported throughout his life.

Dr. Zeiler passed away March 24, 2020, just days after his 99th birthday. He is survived by his five children, Anita Vergne, Mary Haft, Maura Froelich, William J. Zeiler and Gerry Zeiler, and their spouses, and eleven grandchildren.

One of his favorite quotes came from Leonardo da Vinci, and it perfectly expresses his life: “As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death”.

Burial will be private. The family asks that any donations be made in the name of the William B. Zeiler, MD Professorship in Pathology, at the Mayo Clinic, Department of Development, 200 First Street, SW, Rochester, MN 55905, 800.297.1185.

Donations may also be made to the Pittsburgh Musicians Union, at the American Federation of Musicians at 564 Forbes Avenue, Suite 1003, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412.281.1822.