American College of Medical Informatics In Memoriam, 2009–2010

Abstract

In this special section, initiated by Past President Joyce Mitchell in the expectation that it will become an ACMI tradition, we memorialize the lives of the fellows who died during her presidency. There were seven. Six were born a generation before the term informatics was coined and more than 50 years before the founding of AMIA. Six lived through World War II, four through the Great Depression. Two of the deceased— Helmuth Orthner and William Yamamoto —were founding fellows of ACMI in 1984, while three— Allan Pryor , Harold Schoolman , and William Schwartz —were elected the following year. Joachim Dudeck and Mario Stefanelli became fellows in 2001. Most of us are aware of the accomplishments of these men (for details, visit the ACMI wiki), but few are familiar with the lives they lived. Here, aided by the reminiscences of families, friends, and colleagues, we celebrate those lives. (An article about Marco Ramoni , who was elected to ACMI posthumously, appears on page 369 of this issue.) Joachim Dudeck, a physician, recognized the medical potential of informatics early in his career and greatly enjoyed the intellectual camaraderie of others of like mind. In fact, he reveled in it. Joachim treasured his colleagues. He loved visiting them, hosting them, opera-going with them, dining with them, wining with them, discoursing with them, and seeing to their comfort. Joachim was a devotee of fine living and a consummately social being. ![Graphic][1] “When I visited for his 65th birthday conference, I was constantly accompanied by someone from his staff to make sure I got from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the airport, and everywhere in between. I was a guest at his home for dinner, as well. And he didn't know me from Adam,” recalls Jim Cimino of the National Institutes … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif