Dr. Robert Wilmott, pediatrics chair who gave parents advice as ‘Dr. Bob,’ dies at 75 – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Dr. Robert Wilmott, long-time chair of pediatrics at Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital who wrote advice columns for area parents as Dr. Bob, died Sunday.

Dr. Robert W. Wilmott, who served as chair of the pediatrics department at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital for 17 years and provided advice to parents across the St. Louis region through his Dr. Bob columns for the hospital and St. Louis Post-Dispatch, died Sunday from bile duct cancer. He was 75.

Wilmott also served nearly three years as dean of the St. Louis University School of Medicine beginning in January 2019, a pivotal time as he strengthened the schools partnerships with SSM Health hospitals and SLUCare physician practices.

Despite his cancer diagnosis in 2020, Wilmotts leadership as dean was marked by the building of the new St. Louis University Hospital, the Center for Specialized Medicine, and the SLUCare Academic Pavilion, leaving a lasting impact on our growth and development, said Kevin Elledge, president of the SSM Health St. Louis Regional Medical Group.

Wilmott also shepherded the medical school through a difficult accreditation process and the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the chair of pediatrics at Cardinal Glennon, Wilmott was a thoughtful and engaging leader, said SSM Health St. Louis Regional President Jeremy Fotheringham. He was not only a gifted clinician, but a prolific researcher and mentor.

Wilmott was devoted to his patients, colleagues and work, Fotheringham said. His leadership was not just about maintaining the status quo, but about propelling us forward and reaching new heights.

Wilmott was born in London to Bill and Rose Wilmott on Sept. 12, 1948. He was the first member of his family to attend a university, earning his medical degree from University College London in 1973, according to family members. He received a research doctorate from the University of London, where he began specializing in treating children with cystic fibrosis.

During a fellowship at Londons Great Ormond Street Hospital in pediatric intensive care, he met his wife, Cathryn Clark, a nurse at the time. They married Dec. 12, 1981.

Wilmott first came to the United States in 1977 for a rotation at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, where he would return after his marriage in London. In 1986, he took an academic position at Wayne State University in Detroit; and from 1989 to 2001 he served as director of the pulmonary, allergy and immunology division at the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center.

In 2001, Wilmott became the pediatrician-in-chief at Cardinal Glennon. He also served as an editor of the Journal of Pediatrics for 18 years and was a principal author of Disorders of the Respiratory Tract in Children, an authoritative textbook of pediatric pulmonology.

He was a frequent contributor to the former Healthy Kids advice column in the Post-Dispatch, writing dozens of columns between 2003 and 2015 on topics such as accidental poisonings, concussions, lice and screen time.

For years, parents could also submit questions about their childrens health under the Ask Dr. Bob section on Cardinal Glennons website.

Wilmott loved to ride horses, scuba dive, play the saxophone, ski and travel, his family said. He and his wife went on several medical mission trips together to Belize.

One of four daughters, Annabelle Wilmott, 31, of Sacramento Calif., said she observed her fathers kind and gentle approach with patients firsthand when she accompanied her parents to Belize. He would often maintain relationships with his patients long after caring for them as their doctor.

She also saw her dads compassion for the unhoused, getting to know many of their names and life stories.

Throughout my life, I witnessed the depth of my fathers care and empathy for others, she said.

Wilmott is survived by his wife of 42 years, Cathryn Wilmott; his sister, Rosemary Wilmott; his daughters, Jenny Wilmott, Francesca Wilmott, Gina Reed and Annabelle Wilmott; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, at St. Francis Xavier College Church in St. Louis.

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