Preston Allen Wade was born on 22 March 1901 in Helena, Montana, the son of Claudia and John W. Wade. He moved East to enter the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center with which he was associated for the entirety of his medical career from student to Emeritus Professor. Pep, as he was universally known, early developed an abiding interest in the surgery of trauma. He first worked as a house officer in the old New York Hospital on 14th Street and he was to see its incorporation with the Cornell University Medical College and played an important role in that union. His service during the second world war established his pre-eminence in the treatment of trauma and he presided over the American Association for Surgery of Trauma and was editor of their journal. He was also in due course honoured by the Presidency of the New York Academy of Medicine. His lifelong philosophy was that 'the doctor is here not just to treat; his job is to help preserve the dignity of man'. He was 81 when he died suddenly in his home from a stroke on 17 August 1982. He was survived by his wife, Evangeline, and two stepchildren, H James Caulkins and Jean C McDaniel.