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jobs until he became a bartend-
er, which led to co-owning and 
operating a small bar. Sadie’s 
efforts were focused in the 
home, making sure the family 
had packed lunches and food 
on the dinner table. The family 
had Friday dinner together to 
light candles, and the boys were 
educated in the rituals and tra-
ditions of the Jewish faith, each 
having a bar mitzvah ceremony. 
“Despite being quite poor, my 
mother had several small tin 
tzedakah boxes into which she 
added small coins weekly. From 
an early age, we learned it was 
important to care for other peo-
ple who had even less than us,
” 
Dr. Lauter said.
Reuben developed lung can-
cer and died at age 56, when 
Dr. Lauter was still a student 
at Mumford High School. His 
father’s untimely death put an 
enormous strain on Sadie, but 
she remained intently focused 
on seeing her sons through 
their education. Dr. Lauter’s 
brothers were both attending 
Wayne State University, Carl 
in the School of Medicine and 
Ronald as an undergraduate 
studying education. Together, 
the boys chipped in to keep 
the household afloat, but Sadie 
made sure her sons’ jobs didn’t 
detract from their educational 
pursuits. 
She looked up to those in the 
medical profession and consid-
ered them to be honorable peo-
ple who improved the world. 
“Doctors are esteemed and 
respected, and she wanted her 
children to be respected as well. 
She had the right idea with help-
ing people, too,
” Dr. Lauter said. 
“My older brother Carl was 
also a graduate of the WSU 
School of Medicine and has 
always been a role model for 
me. He has had an esteemed 
career in the specialties of infec-
tious disease and allergy/immu-
nology, combining a career of 
clinical practice, teaching and 

research. We still enjoy long 
phone conversations discussing 
medical issues.
”

THE IMPORTANCE 
OF EDUCATION
Sadie and Reuben imparted to 
their children the importance 
of education, family and charity, 
and each of these values greatly 
influenced the course of Dr. 
Lauter’s life and career. He knew 
he wanted to enter the medical 
field and attend Wayne State 
University for his undergradu-
ate and medical degrees, so he 
put in the effort to earn schol-
arships that covered his full tui-
tion, books and equipment. 
“Wayne State was my place. 
Everyone was so nice and 
allowed me to be at home, 
work part time and to help my 
mother so that she wasn’t alone. 
The first two years were spent 
predominantly in the class-
room, but the latter years were 
especially enjoyable as I rotated 
through the major specialties 
and electives. At Wayne, I had 
wonderful professors and role 
models, which further cement-
ed my love for medicine.
”
After graduating from the 
School of Medicine in 1971, Dr. 
Lauter completed his residen-
cy in Internal Medicine at the 
Washington University School 

of Medicine in St. Louis. 
Though he moved briefly for 
a stint as a major in the U.S. Air 
Force and a fellowship in rheu-
matology at McGill University 
in Montreal, Canada, St. Louis 
became his home base. Dr. 
Lauter practiced rheumatol-
ogy and internal medicine as 
a member of a multispecialty 
group from 1978 to 2016 while 
also serving as a clinical faculty 
member at the Washington 
University School of Medicine 
in St. Louis, where he trained 
students, residents and fellows. 
He later joined the faculty part 
time until his retirement during 
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Family remains integral to 
Dr. Lauter. He married Sheryl 
“Sherri” Williams in 1974, and 
together they had two sons, 
Aaron and Robert. Sherri 
worked as an elementary school 
teacher and a pediatric coun-
selor and volunteered in their 
community for many organi-
zations until her death from 
breast cancer in 1997. 
Dr. Lauter was grateful that 
both Sherri and his extended 
family were able to commem-
orate his mother Sadie’s 80th 
birthday, as Sadie died in 1991 
at the age of 84. Dr. Lauter later 
married Renie, also an educator, 
and mother of Marc, Jill and 

Katie. Since their marriage, the 
family has expanded to include 
spouses and six grandchildren.

PAYING IT FORWARD
These life experiences inspired 
Dr. Lauter to establish the Sadie 
and Reuben Lauter Endowed 
Scholarship at the Wayne State 
University School of Medicine. 
 “People there were always 
so kind to me and went out of 
their way to support me. I’ve 
donated over the years, but I 
always looked forward to feel-
ing comfortable enough that I 
could really do something more 
to honor my parents,
” he said. 
His scholarship is unique in 
that its funds are available for 
incoming medical students, 
which Dr. Lauter hopes will 
assist the School of Medicine 
in recruiting and graduating 
promising doctors who — 
much like him — couldn’t 
afford to attend without finan-
cial assistance.
Recruiting scholarships such 
as the Sadie and Reuben Lauter 
Endowed Scholarship allow the 
School of Medicine to attract 
top candidates who demon-
strate financial need. 
Students with less educational 
debt have the opportunity to 
explore all kinds of medical 
practice, so scholarships set 
them on the path to success 
without fear of future income 
potential.
Dr. Lauter’s gift of gratitude 
for his education will make 
a remarkable and immediate 
impact in the lives of Wayne 
State University medical stu-
dents. The School of Medicine 
is honored by his philanthropy 
and will be a proud steward of 
the scholarship that recognizes 
the life and legacy of his par-
ents. 
To learn more about how to 
make a similar gift, contact Lori 
Robitaille at (313) 993-4070 or 
lrobitai@med.wayne.edu. 

The Lauter Family: (seated) Sadie, Steven and Reuben; (standing) Carl 
and Ronald

OUR COMMUNITY

