Huntt Funeral Home
MAJ William Thomas Tanner, M.D., Medical Corps, United States Army, known to many as Dr. Bill Tanner, passed away comfortably and peacefully on June 24, 2021 with family at his bedside after a six month long battle fighting coronavirus and its complications. He was born to William Hutchins Tanner and Shirley Marie McKay Tanner on August 28, 1952 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, DC. He is predeceased by both aforementioned parents; brother-in-law, Larry Rawlings; and niece, Shelby Rawlings. He is lovingly remembered and survived by his wife, Betsy Tanner; daughter, Elizabeth Tanner; step-mother, Lucretia Dewey Tanner; brother, Robert Tanner; sister, Cynthia Tanner Rawlings Barrett; nieces, nephews, and extended family; and countless friends, colleagues, and patients.
Dr. Tanner is best known for his commitment to duty and serving his community. He entered the Army ROTC program while attending Western Maryland College in Westminster, MD (now known as McDaniel College), graduating in 1974. In 1979, he received his medical degree at Universidad Central Del Este in Dominican Republic. He continued to serve in the army during his postgraduate Internal Medicine residency training at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, HI and continued to serve as a physician in the US Army after completing medical training. After being stationed around the world, including Germany, the Philippines, and South Korea, and completing Army Airborne School to become a paratrooper, MAJ Tanner retired from the US Army to settle permanent roots in his hometown of Baden, MD.
For the remainder of his life, Dr. Tanner was a devoted family man and passionate physician. He co-founded Maryland Health Care Associates, which later merged to become MedStar Shah Medical Group. His forty year medical career also included serving as a full-time primary care physician; multiple appointments at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center, including President of Medical Staff for two terms and MedStar's Chief Advisor of Medicine; and affiliations with multiple hospitals, nursing homes, and medical schools and training programs in the area. He fought for the lives of his patients not only saving but comforting them, making it a point to be available for same-day office visits and conducting house calls on occasion. He ensured his patients received not only the care they needed but the care they deserved, even when in dire circumstances or uninsured. Dr. Tanner considered practicing medicine and serving in the military among two of the greatest honors of his life.
He was a self-described "country boy," and although he loved traveling to the city, his heart and home were always amongst the fields and trees where he spent most of his free time on his family farm. Others most frequently described him as caring, compassionate, down-to-earth, easy-to-talk-to, strong, and a fighter. He is remembered for bringing smiles, laughter, and celebration, particularly when seeing patients in Halloween costume or dressed as Santa Claus. For these qualities and many, many more, he will forever be fondly remembered.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Dr. William T. Tanner to the ECMO team at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute, who worked tirelessly for six months to save Dr. Tanner's life, would be greatly appreciated by those that loved him and prayed for his survival. Online donations can be made at www.inova.gives/IHVI. Please write in his name when indicated on space provided.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, July 7, 2021 from 4PM-7PM and Thursday, July 8, 2021 from 10:30AM till time of Funeral Service at 11:30AM. Burial will be at Maryland Veterans Cemetery in Cheltenham, MD.
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