Daniel Wartenberg

WESTBROOK – Daniel Wartenberg, 68, died of Alzheimer’s disease on August 21, 2020 at Avita of Stroudwater. He moved to Peaks Island from New Jersey soon after his diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s at 61.

He used his experience as a professor of public health at Rutgers University Medical School to educate others about life after Alzheimer’s and to reduce the stigma of the disease: “Instead of giving speeches about cancer clusters, I present about Alzheimer’s. I can show it is still possible to live a meaningful life with this disease,” he said.

He said similar words at an Alzheimer’s walk, at an award ceremony for volunteers, at a fund-raising golf tournament, and at community meetings, including a forum sponsored by the Peaks Island Health Center.

He also spoke with pride about training, qualifying and completing the Peaks to Portland 2.5 mile swim, acknowledging the trainers and other swimmers, including those from Peaks Island, who supported him throughout this process.

In addition, with support from islanders, he took photos of island dogs for a postcard that was sold at the local cafe to support the Alzheimer’s Association. Caron Chess, his spouse, is so grateful to the Peaks Island community and so many residents who enabled him to live life to the fullest. She also thanks the staff of Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association for advice, support groups, social programs and much joy.

Before his diagnosis, Dan was known internationally for advancing the science of disease cluster investigations with sophisticated methodologies. He served on prestigious national committees and was one of the founders and president of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology.

Dan was equally committed to advising communities in many states concerned about excess cancers or other health issues. In California, he worked with a group of parents concerned about the number of cleft palates. Businesses, residents, and community leaders in Maine who disagreed about problems with a local pulp mill, recruited Dan because of the integrity of his science.

He was also a volunteer firefighter in New Jersey and served on the county HazMat team.

Dan is also survived by his brother, Thomas Wartenberg of Northampton, Mass.; and nephew, Jacob Wartenberg of Brooklyn.

A zoom memorial service will be held in the next few months.

You may honor Dan’s memory by donating to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (curealz.org) to fund Alzheimer’s research.


Share your condolences, kind words and remembrances below. You must be logged into the website to comment. Subscribers, please login. Not a subscriber? Register to comment for free or subscribe to support our work.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.