William H. Sledge of New Haven, CT died on December 20, 2022 at the age of 77. Son of the late attorney George E. Sledge and Minnie B. Sledge, he was predeceased by his siblings, George E. Sledge, Jr., and Mary Ann Weems. He is survived by his wife Betsy; three daughters, Ann, Margaret, and Katherine; and six grandchildren.
Born and raised in Greensboro, Sledge excelled at both academics and football. In college at Washington and Lee in VA, Sledge played varsity football and lacrosse and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving his M.D. at Baylor College of Medicine, he interned at the University of Pennsylvania, did a residency at Yale University, and served as a flight surgeon at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine.
During his long career at the Yale School of Medicine, Sledge was a distinguished psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, health services investigator, educator, clinical administrator, and innovator of clinical services. Known for his innovative ideas, Sledge was the first in the country to embed mental health in hospital-based teams; his model was copied widely around the world.
For a decade, Sledge and his wife, Betsy Rose Sledge, formerly of Birmingham, headed a residential college at Yale. Their college talks were legendary, attracting national leaders in many fields. Sledge played water polo with the students, regaled them with tales of being scouted by The University of Alabama’s Bear Bryant, or swimming with sharks as a scuba diver. The Sledges made the college a welcoming community, helping many young people at critical moments in their lives.
A celebration of life will be held in the spring. Share a memory and sign his guestbook online at www.iovanne.com
