Dr. Robert Lyne Warburton

He was our mountain man and horse whisperer – our Gus McCrae and world traveler. On January 5, 2026, Robert “Bob” passed away in Salt Lake City, Utah after complications from a two week battle with influenza A. His final hours were spent with his son and daughter by his side – surrounded with tears, laughter, love and forgiveness. Bob was a committed learner his whole life and could talk about politics or his favorite philosophers for hours with passion and depth. He loved fishing and falconry, and he approached watching birds in his canyon with his typical enthusiasm, developing an encyclopedic knowledge of every bird in the region. Nature and animals, or “critters” as he liked to call them, were his true joy and brought him more peace than anything.

Bob loved and respected people and cultures from around the world, and traveled as often as he could. His trip to India with his wife Janet was among his favorites, but his true happy place was “The Pines.” At The Pines, his cabin outside of Zion National Park that he owned with his closest friends, Bob loved sleeping under the stars and waking up to the sunrise on the red cliffs.

Bob’s brilliant mind and empathy for those suffering were his greatest gifts. While he suffered from mental illness, and later on dementia, he had incredible moments of happiness and clarity until the end. As a gifted psychiatrist, he made it his mission to help people with their own mental illnesses, bringing comfort and care to many.

Bob spent most of his life in the Salt Lake City area, attending Olympus High School and the University of Utah. After graduating from Cornell Medical School in New York City, he and Janet returned to Salt Lake to raise their kids and start their life’s work of helping those suffering from mental illness. Bob served as the Clinical Director at Valley Mental Health, Clinical Director at Salt Lake County Mental Health, and was an active member of the Utah Psychiatric Association.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Morris J. Warburton and Margaret Gurnsey Warburton, his former wife and partner Janet Rampton Warburton, and his sisters Anne Warburton and Carolyn Hardesty. Bob is survived by his daughter Brooke Warburton Flavin (Matt), son Brandon Robert Warburton (Jill), grandchildren Rowan Flavin, Callum Flavin, Elle Warburton and Grace Warburton, his sister Robyn Seldin, and brother James Warburton.

A celebration of life will be planned at a later date that is authentic to Bob, likely around a campfire at The Pines. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation.