Werner & Joan Samson: A Lifelong Partnership in Love, Medicine, and Saving lives
Few couples have shaped our region’s medical landscape like Dr. Werner Samson and his wife of 72 years, Joan Samson. Their story is one of resilience, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to each other and to improving lives—both in the exam room and in the community.
Werner was just ten years old when he left Germany on a children’s transport to England to escape Nazi persecution. A year later, he reunited with his parents in Holland—but when Germany invaded in 1940, he and his father were trapped. In 1943, they were deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where his father later tragically died of starvation.
Liberated shortly before the end of WWII, Werner reunited with his mother and sister in Seattle—with only $6 to his name—and set out to rebuild his life. In 1946, he entered Broadway Edison High School. After graduating, the University of Washington initially denied him admission for not finishing junior high; his high school vice principal personally appealed to the dean, securing him probationary acceptance—a chance he seized and never looked back upon.
Joan, a native Seattleite, graduated from UW in 1952 with a degree in psychology and took a job at Harborview as an electroencephalograph technician. Werner, a UW medical student, met Joan there. A year later, they were married—just a week before Werner graduated, and in the same year, he became a U.S. citizen.
Werner became the first UW Medical School graduate to train at the University of Rochester and later served two years as a U.S. Air Force Medical Corps Captain in England. Returning to Seattle in 1958, he completed his cardiology fellowship—performing UW Hospital’s very first heart catheterization in 1959.
In the late 1950s, Werner became a Cardiology Fellow under Dr. Leonard Cobb, co-founder of Medic One, and the two became lifelong friends. Together with John Mazerella, they trained the very first group of Seattle paramedics in 1969. In 1972, Werner and Cobb partnered with Fire Chief Gordon Vickery to launch Medic II, a public CPR training program that would become a national model.
35+ Years of Foundation and Leadership
Recognizing the need for sustainable funding to protect and advance the Medic One program, Werner joined Dr. Cobb and four other community leaders in founding the Medic One Foundation. He is the last surviving member of the original board, serving for more than 35 years—many as Secretary.
During those decades, Werner devoted countless hours to reviewing and guiding Foundation grants that helped shape EMS protocols still in use today—from lifesaving equipment and new treatment models to training innovations that set national standards.
He and Joan also led by example in giving, making generous personal donations every single year of his board tenure. Their generosity supported critical projects, equipment, and research—directly impacting survival rates and patient care in our region. And their presence was constant, whether attending events, advocating for the program, or lending their voices in support of new initiatives.
Lives Well Lived
The Samsons have called Mercer Island home for 66 years. They purchased a beautiful forested lot and built a home with funds from Werner’s Holocaust survivors’ restitution funds, the lot acquired from the same high school vice principal who once changed Werner’s life. They raised two children, Lisa and Dan, and are proud grandparents to three grandchildren.
Even now, Werner swims daily and reflects on a lifetime of service. “Saving lives was a serious business,” he says. Joan adds, “We’ve called Medic One on a couple of occasions over the past few years, and they were unbelievable—so kind and caring. They even called the next day to check on us.”
And while he has great admiration for Medic One’s crews, Werner admits he’s not the easiest patient—he sometimes can’t resist offering a diagnosis or suggesting a treatment. “It’s hard to take off the physician’s cap,” he says with a smile.
Their story is not just one of survival—it’s one of overcoming unbelievable challenges, building institutions, strengthening emergency care, and inspiring future generations to do the same.
