Asheville Citizen-Times obituary here. Dr. Robert Boerner was distinguished professional admired for his work in Asheville’s medical community. I went to school with Dr. Boerner’s children.
Asheville – Dr. Robert M. Boerner, 73, of 400 Charlotte Street, Asheville, died Wednesday, May 27, 2009, at his home.
Dr. Boerner was born in Newark, N.J., and was a son of the late Walter and Beatrice Zahradnik Boerner. He was an Air Force veteran and was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He received his medical degree in 1961, also from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Dr. Boerner was the first Infectious Disease Specialist to practice in Western North Carolina. He was instrumental in the development of the Infection Control Department at Mission/St. Joseph Hospitals.
He joined the medical staffs of Memorial Mission and St. Joseph’s Hospitals in 1971, and served in numerous medical staff and hospital leadership capacities during his career including Department Chairman and Chairman of Infectious Control. In 1978 1979, he served as Chief of Medical Staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Dr. Boerner helped establish the MAHEC program and provided years of teaching to resident physicians as a UNC Clinical Professor of Medicine and held membership in the AMA, NC Medical Society, and the Buncombe County Medical Society. In 2001, the NC Society of Respiratory Care honored him as Physician of the Year. He was the founder of Asheville Consultative Medicine. In 2007, Dr. Boerner received the Founders’ Day Physician Award.
A respected and dedicated professional, Dr. Boerner was greatly admired by both colleagues and patients for his kindhearted care to those suffering with life threatening illnesses. His kindness was boundless, and he was described by one physician as one of the most caring, compassionate physicians ever, and another as a prince among men.
Dr. Boerner retired from the Medical Staff at Mission Hospitals in 2003, following a distinguished 32-year career as a Pulmonologist and Infectious Disease specialist. He served as a member of the hospital Board Credentialing Committee.