Dr. Baxter D. Montgomery passed away suddenly last week, and I’ve been sitting with the shock, the sadness, and the deep gratitude I feel for having known him—if only from the other side of a screen.
Years ago, I had the privilege of building his website and consulting packages. He came to me with a dilemma that most wouldn’t even recognize as one: he was a top-tier heart surgeon, but he wanted to publicly champion a plant-based approach to healing. Would that confuse people? Would it undermine his credibility?
But Dr. Montgomery wasn’t interested in staying quiet about what he knew to be true. He had seen firsthand that the vast majority of his patients were suffering from diet-related heart disease. And he wasn’t content with simply treating symptoms—he wanted to get to the root of the problem.
We worked together to make sure his site reflected this two-pronged mission: cutting-edge cardiology paired with the healing power of food. To help me understand his nutritional program, he mailed me a stack of DVDs. I expected to watch them like homework. Instead, they changed my life.
I shifted my diet immediately. I became nearly vegan and have stayed that way to this day. Dr. Montgomery didn’t just influence his patients—he impacted everyone around him. That was his quiet power. He didn’t preach. He educated, demonstrated, and inspired.
Building a Vision That Transformed Lives
When we first built out his offerings, I suggested he create a high-end transformation package—something bold that could truly change someone’s life, even if it felt like a stretch at the time. I warned him it might not sell right away. A year later, on our follow-up call, he told me with a grin that after a few months of stillness, people began buying it. And not just buying—it was changing them.
That was the beginning of what would become a thriving program. I kept watching from afar, cheering him on as he spoke, taught, and healed. During the pandemic, his YouTube videos became a lifeline for many. In a time of global panic, he remained a steady voice: factual, clear, calm, and deeply human.
More Than a Doctor
Dr. Montgomery was a rare force—a man who could operate on your heart and also help you heal it through what you put on your plate. He took the risk of being fully himself in a system that often discourages that. And in doing so, he saved more lives than we will probably ever be able to count.
I’ve followed his work all these years. I’ve admired his courage, his consistency, and the deep compassion that lived at the center of everything he did.
His death is a massive loss to the many communities he touched, but his work continues through the patients he transformed, the ideas he fearlessly shared, and the legacy he built at Montgomery Heart & Wellness.
Thank You, Dr. Montgomery
Thank you for trusting me to help shape your digital presence. Thank you for showing me—and so many others—that healing is possible when we face the truth with courage. You didn’t just change lives. You changed the direction of lives. Including mine.
Read his book The Food Prescription for Better Health: A Cardiologists Proven Method to Reverse Heart Disease, Diabetes, Obesity, and Other Chronic Illnesses Naturally!: Montgomery MD, Baxter D.: 9780983128717: Amazon.com: Books to understand his philosophy to health. It’s excellent.
Rest well, Dr. Montgomery. You were the heart in heart medicine.
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