Colin Painter, Ph.D., professor emeritus of otolaryngology, died Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2004, of complications from multiple myeloma. He was 71 and a resident of St. Louis.
Painter established the voice evaluation laboratory at Washington University, which combined many methods of laryngeal evaluation.
Based on statistical techniques, he was able to combine a variety of disparate measures of function into a comprehensive analysis of laryngeal status, a technique used for many years in the clinical assessment of patients with voice disorders.
He also studied speech pathology, speech perception, phonology, syntax and anthropological linguistics.
Painter was born and raised in Dudley, England. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian in 1958, an academic postgraduate diploma in phonetics in 1962 and a doctorate in general linguistics in 1969, all from the University of London.
He held teaching positions at many institutions, including the University of London, the University of Ghana, the University of Indiana and the University of Toronto, before joining Washington University as a professor of otolaryngology in 1983. He retired from the University in 1999.
In addition to being a passionate academic, Painter enjoyed culture, travel and the arts.
Some of his favorite pastimes were listening to the Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts from the New York Metropolitan Opera and taking strolls at the Missouri Botanical Garden. He also loved to entertain at his home in Clayton.
He is survived by sons Alex and Dominic; a brother, Derrick; and a nephew, Simon.
Contributions in Painter’s memory can be made to the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, P.O. Box 191910, St. Louis, MO 63119, or Union Avenue Opera Theatre, 733 Union Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108.