Stew Lauterbach grew up in the Chicago area where he developed a love for the outdoors and became an accomplished swimmer. In college, he pursued aquatic sports and taught canoeing and kayaking - often running trips to Canada. During this time he also became a volunteer firefighter and paramedic, which led to his ambition to pursue a medical degree.
Barbara Swary Lauterbach grew up on a farm outside a small rural town in Northwest Ohio. She spent many days of her childhood driving the tractor on her family's 40 acre farm where the primary crops were winter wheat, oats, alfalfa, soybeans and corn. In this small town, the primary occupations for girls were nursing or teaching - and Barb chose nursing, pursuing her degree in the much larger metropolis of Cincinnati.
Stew met Barb in Cincinnati where he completed his medical degree at The renowned University of Cincinnati. Here they began a 25 year relationship that encompassed their love of adventure, travel, medicine, and, eventually, wine. Upon Stew's completion of medical school, a residency computer match sent the young couple to Highland Hospital in Oakland, California in 1981, where Stew completed his emergency medicine training.
