Dr. William A. Rack
We celebrate the life of William Alexander Rack who passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on November 1, 2023.
Bill was born on September 14, 1931 to William and Elizabeth Rack in Bronx, NY. He spent his early years in the Bronx and his high school years in Haverford, PA attending Haverford High School. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1953, having lettered in basketball, soccer, and tennis. He attended University of Pennsylvania Medical School and upon completion entered the U.S. Navy where he served from 1957-1965 achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander. While serving in the Navy he completed his internship and residency in Neurology at Bethesda Naval Hospital and a fellowship in Neurology at Columbia University in New York. He was also a clinical instructor of Neurology at Howard University and Georgetown University from 1961-1965.
He received an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1965 and moved with his wife, Barbara, and three young children to Santa Barbara to work at Sansum Clinic. His private practice began in 1967 and continued for more than forty years.
As a neurologist, he dedicated his life to the service of others, offering compassionate care and expertise to countless patients throughout his esteemed career. He was respected by his peers and loved by his patients.
He always loved to tell the true story that he and Barbara met in a bar in Ocean City, NJ in 1959, played a round of golf the next day, were engaged in four weeks and married in November of that same year. A lifetime of family, music, dancing, travel, and golf followed.
Members of La Cumbre Country Club since 1965, Bill was President in 1977 and integral to the development of the tennis facility. He was a five-time singles champion, and an avid golfer playing with friends and family as often as possible.
Bill and Barbara were active members of All Saints Episcopal Church in Montecito where Bill was a Lay Eucharist Minister for many years and taught Sunday school.
An accomplished pianist with perfect pitch, Bill loved to entertain family and friends with his encyclopedic knowledge of almost any tune and his incredible talent honed through a lifetime of practice and playing.
Bill cherished his wife, children, and especially his grandchildren. He will be remembered for his love of card games – cribbage, gin, oh-hell, and bridge. Victory over “Poppy” in any of these games was something to be bragged about. He will also be remembered for his passion for golf and tennis, the way he would laugh until crying at his own jokes, and especially, the time we all got to spend with him.
He is survived by Barbara, his wife of 64 years, children, Bill (Eva), Hilary (Greg) and Peter (Elizabeth), and his grandchildren Ian, Grant, Briana, Catherine, Caris, Will, Sam and Lily.
He was predeceased by his parents and his twin sisters, Betty and Barbara and their spouses.
The family would like to thank his loving caregiver Sally and the wonderful caring staff at Cliff View Terrace, during his last six weeks.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
If you wish to honor his life with a donation, please consider the Community Arts Music Associating (www.camasb.org), All Saints by-the- Sea Episcopal Church (allsaintsbythesea.org/giving/) and Alzheimer’s Association of Santa Barbara (www.alz.org/cacentralcoast).