Donald Eugene Webb
Donald Eugene Webb passed away peacefully at his home in Salt Lake City on the morning of February 3, 2025. He was 91 years old. We will miss his warm heart and quirky sense of humor, his commitment to family, and his deep compassion and empathy.
Don was born at home on a farm in the Central Valley of California near the small town of Strathmore. As a child he wanted to be a doctor. He eventually realized that dream, through hard work and good fortune, becoming a UCSF- and Mayo Clinic-trained orthopedist. At Mayo he worked with Dr. Mark Coventry, who chose Don to serve as Assistant to the Staff after residency, a position that gave him wonderful experience as a consulting surgeon. His proudest achievement was passing his orthopedic boards and becoming a member of the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He practiced briefly in Visalia, California (1968-69) then in Santa Barbara, California at the Sansum Clinic (1969 – 1989) and in solo practice (1989-2010).
While at Mayo he and his wife, Sally, made a group of lifelong friends—the “Coventry Group,” the orthopedic fellows and their spouses—who continued to reunite in different cities over many years to celebrate and renew those early connections.
Medicine afforded Don great opportunities for travel and experience. He especially relished his medical internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans in 1959-60, his service in the Air Force as General Medical Officer on Shemya Island in 1960-61 (nearly the westernmost of the Aleutian islands in Alaska) , and his multiple international trips over 30 years volunteering as a doctor and teacher in Liberia, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Zaire, India, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Malawi, and Bhutan. He often travelled with Sally or one of his kids on these trips, in this way sharing with those closest to him his sense of adventure, curiosity about the world and humanitarian commitment. On an early trip to Bangladesh, while working for Health Volunteers Overseas, he had the rare privilege of meeting Mother Teresa. He remembered and took to heart her advice. “Don’t worry about solving the problems of millions,” she told him. “Do what you can for the person in front of you.”
For 34 years, on Thursday mornings, Don donated his time at the Santa Barbara County Orthopedic Clinic for low-income patients. He also served as Santa Barbara High’s football team doctor for 21 years. He enjoyed walking the sidelines with his friend Walter Capps during home games.
Don could make or fix anything. His hobby was furniture making, and he built many pieces, each beautifully designed and–as you would expect of an orthopedist–precisely and sturdily constructed.
He loved animals. Growing up on a farm, Don was responsible for milking the cows starting at age 10 and always had a dog. In recent years his two dogs, Amber and Tiny, were extremely important to him. He took good care of them. One of his favorite quotes was from Albert Schweitzer: “Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things man will not himself find peace.”
Don is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sally Webb; his sisters, Janice and Betty; his children, Jeff and wife Laurie, Tim and wife Michele, Elizabeth and husband Bill; and his grandchildren, Michaela, Clay, Ula, and Emily.
