The Namesake

ROBERT LARNER, M.D.’42 NEVER FORGOT HIS ROOTS.

Today they reside in the collection of the Larner College of Medicine, but these staple items of a practicing physician spent their many years of actual daily service in the medical practice of the late Robert Larner, M.D.’42.

Raised in the Old North End of Burlington in a family of very modest means, Larner knew early on that he wanted to do something with his life other than following his father into the roofing business. His success in statewide debating contests provided him with enough money to afford an undergraduate education at UVM before entering its medical school. After earning his M.D., he served as a doctor in battlefield units at Guadalcanal and Okinawa. Post-war, he settled in Los Angeles, and built a thriving internal medicine practice, while also making carefully researched and managed investments in California real estate with his wife and business partner, Helen.

The Larners were longtime donors to his medical alma mater, and in 2016 they capped decades of “giving back” with a transformative gift to support medical education, for which the College was renamed in recognition. The Larners’ giving had its roots firmly in the medical practice embodied by these well-worn instruments. Dr. Larner had one major goal with philanthropy: “I wanted to help other medical students have the kind of stimulating, gratifying practice of medicine that I’d had,” he said.

“I wanted to help other medical students have the kind of stimulating, gratifying practice of medicine that I’d had.”

– ROBERT LARNER, M.D.’42

A collection of the examination tools Dr. Larner used throughout his decades of internal medicine practice. (Opposite) Dr. Robert Larner and his wife, Helen.