Dr. Robert Stephen Hattner

died Thursday, January 19, at Virginia Mason Medical Center, in Seattle, Washington. He was 71 years of age. Born in Detroit, Michigan on January 9, 1940, to John and Linnea Hattner, he continued his education there through medical school at Wayne State.Having distinguished himself at that point, he won .a coveted Internal Medicine internship at Stanford University which was completed in 1966. California was to his liking, but finding himself in the Vietnam era after his internship, Dr. Hattner served his active military duty as a Lt. Cmdr. in the USPHS at Letterman Hospital, San Francisco. Active duty became inactive in 1968 when he separated with the rank of Surgeon. Following that, he was awarded a research fellowship at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital at Harvard, where he was also an Assistant in Medicine. Returning to California in 1969, he pursued still another notch in his career ladder with a fellowship in Medical Physics at UC Berkeley, becoming involved in both training and research at the Donner Laboratory and the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley. The residency that followed at UCSF led to a career there, part of which found him Chief of Nuclear Medicine, and culminating in his retirement in 2000. After retirement, Dr. Hattner worked At California Pacific Medical Center as a contractual Nuclear Medicine Physician in partnership with Dr. Steven Bunker until his move to Bainbridge Island in 2006. Though a dinosaur in his field, "Bob" Hattner found time to be interested in a number of other pursuits. He was an avid automoblie enthusiast. He owned a succession of Porsches, a Morgan Drophead and a LaForza among his collection of more exotic vehicles. For many years his summer vacation consisted of at least a week at the Monterrey Bay area car events, Laguna Seca, The Concourso Italiana and the Pebble Beach exhibition. Not your mainstream kind of guy, he was oblivious to the many celebs at these events, rather he would examine classic cars for authenticity, peering under hoods, engaging the owners. A trip to France and Italy in 1999 allowed him to attend both the Mille Miglia and the Monaco Grand Prix. He was a dedicated political junkie, consuming the WSJ in its entirety on a daily bases, and seeking editorial opinions of those he considered brilliant (and mostly conservative!) online and from any other worthy source. With eclectic tastes in music, he would listen to country blues, jazz, blue grass and was a frequent holder of the symphony's season tickets. (Would you also believe the Beach Boys and Blossom Dearie?)Robert served in the military as a (LT. CMDR) surgeon from 1966-2001 and served active duty from 1966-1968. He is survived by his wife Sunny Day, his children; Sabra Ballon of San Francisco, CA, Marika Hattner of Mill Valley, CA, Kari Hattner of Redwood City, CA, also his stepsons Mark Cowsert of San Rafael, CA Brent Cowsert of Lake Tahoe, CA and Ty Cowsert currently serving the USAF in Afghanistan. He also leaves behind his Scotty dog, Minnie. Robert was preceded in death by his parents. A Memorial Service will be held in June in the bay area. Information will be updated on the funeral home's website. Memorial contributions can be made to the SPCA. Please sign the online Guest Book for the family.