Dear colleagues,
I am writing to let you know that Bill Baun, my dear friend and longtime professional collaborator, passed away on Saturday afternoon November 5, ending a 9-year struggle with prostate cancer. He died peacefully, humming a song with his wife MaryBeth and a close friend.
Bill was the consummate health promotion practitioner, having launched the fitness programs at Tenneco and managing it for 16 years, then launching the employee wellness program at MD Anderson Hospital and managing it for 12 years before moving into his most recent role as the MD Anderson Wellness Officer in 2012. He was a founding editor of the American Journal of Health Promotion, co-author of some of the earliest studies on the link between corporate wellness and financial outcomes, as well articles on best practice strategies, the most prominent of which was published in the Harvard Business Review, and six books. Bill is probably best known for the daily blogs he wrote on the small important things that make life special; these reached an audience far beyond his professional circles. Bill's Blog
Recent leadership positions included serving as national Chair of the CEO Cancer Gold Standard Task Group, chair of the Houston Mayors Wellness Council, and President of the National Wellness Institute. Recent awards include the Alumni Hall of Distinction from University Laboratory High School, and the Bill Whitmer Leadership Award presented by the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO). His passions included traveling and just hanging out with his wife MaryBeth and his many close friends, roller blading through the paths in the many cities he visited as an invited speaker, coaching men diagnosed with prostate cancer how to plan for a rich and full life, and helping elderly men in his bible study class have a good death.
Bill is the epitome of the concept of compression of morbidity. He lived a full and active life until he was admitted to the hospital on October 25th; in fact just two days before he died he recorded a video on resilience to honor a speaking commitment scheduled for the next day. View Video
Memorial services will be held at Rice Memorial Chapel on the campus of Rice University in Houston at 1:00 pm Saturday, November 19. In lieu of sending flowers, donations are welcome to the Bill Baun Memorial Fund to help offset costs associated with Bill’s medical care. Memorial Fund
Respectfully,
Michael
Michael P. O’Donnell, MBA, MPH, PhD
Editor in Chief,
American Journal of Health Promotion
