Betsy McClung 1942-2015.

Abstract

Betsy McClung The osteoporosis world and the world in general has lost one of its finest women. Betsy McClung died peacefully on the morning of September 10, 2015, with her husband, Mike, and her daughter, Holly, at her home bedside after a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Our hearts and deep feelings go out to Mike McClung and all of Betsy's family. She will be missed and remembered. She will be remembered not only because of her ever-present smile and positive outlook on life but also because of her commitment to the broad field of osteoporosis. As a dear friend of Mike and Betsy, let me impart some of her key accomplishments in life, notwithstanding her greatest accomplishment: a committed wife, mother, and companion. Betsy was a pioneer in educating nurses about osteoporosis management, and in this capacity she founded the ASBMR Annual Meeting session on Allied Health in 1996, a session that will be continued in her memory this year in Seattle by Professors John Bilezikian and Roland Baron. Betsy was a board member of the North American Menopause Society and the Paget's Foundation, leading by example, by patience, and by gentle persuasive persistence. She and Mike cofounded the Oregon Osteoporosis Center (OOC) in 1986 and in that capacity made the OOC one of the world's foremost recognized and respected osteoporosis diagnostic and treatment facilities and a leading center in international clinical trials. Betsy was educated (both bachelor and master of science in nursing) at the University of Oregon, and from that point developed an unwavering passion for caring for patients with osteoporosis. In time, she became an icon in the education of nurses and other allied health professionals. This impact will be her memorial in our metabolic bone field. In 1987 she and Mike met, and a unique and loving relationship evolved that went beyond marriage and business, a real dual partnership. They shared three children: Holly Love, now also a registered nurse; Andy Love; and Daniel McClung. Betsy made sure that they were all successfully integrated with a true sense of family. My wife, Linda, and I were a part of the privacy of their new and bonding relationship from the beginning, and the stories we have collected together and the places we have visited over 40 years will be forever a part of us. We are grateful. Betsy and Mike developed bonds that created lifelong friendships on an international scale and, by these trusted bonds, influenced the osteoporosis world in ways that we all recognize and that will leave a lasting legacy. A few among many respected pioneers in the field can be counted as a reflection of the enormous influence Betsy and Mike imparted in our bone field: Professors John Kanis, Harry Genant, Claus Christiansen, Graham Russell, Herbie Fleisch, Socrates Papapoulos, Nelson Watts, John Bilezikian, Larry Raisz, Lou Avioli, Larry Riggs, Ego Seeman, Pierre Delmas, and Juliet Compston, just to name a few. Betsy was a woman unabashedly generous with love and support in a world that now needs her presence and her principles more than ever. There was not an ounce of negativity in her soul. The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the International Osteoporosis Foundation, the North American Menopausal Society, the National Osteoporosis Foundation, and the National Bone Health Alliance all had their missions influenced in a creative manner one way or another by Betsy's touch. The absence of that touch will be felt by all, but her impact on us will never be forgotten. Paul D Miller Distinguished Clinical Professor of Medicine University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Medical Director Colorado Center for Bone Research Lakewood, Colorado 80227