Jack H. Wilmore, PhD, FACSM

Abstract

It is a great honor to be asked to write a memoriam for Dr. Jack H. Wilmore. Dr. Wilmore was my doctoral mentor, my friend, and most importantly, my brother in Christ. Dr. Wilmore's impact on both exercise physiology and clinical exercise physiology over his long career was extensive and far reaching. Dr. Wilmore was a past-president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM; 1978–79). Based on an extensive career (317 peer-reviewed research articles; 55 chapters in edited books; 15 authored/co-authored books; research grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the United States Air Force), Dr. Wilmore was a recipient of the ACSM Citation Award in 1984 and the ACSM Honor Award in 2006. He was also editor-in-chief of Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews from 1972 to 1975. Dr. Wilmore's textbook in collaboration with Dr. David Costill, Physiology of Sport and Exercise, has set the standard for exercise physiology textbooks since it was first published. In a similar light, in collaboration with Dr. Michael Pollock and Dr. Samuel Fox, Dr. Wilmore's Exercise in Health and Disease: Evaluation and Prescription for Prevention and Rehabilitation was often considered required reading for clinical exercise physiology students.Dr. Wilmore's extensive work in clinical exercise physiology included landmark studies that contributed to understanding that obesity was becoming an epidemic several decades before it was officially recognized by most health and medical institutions. Dr. Wilmore lead the way in developing preventive health adult fitness programs that continue to be an important part of the kinesiology program at the University of Texas at Austin, where Dr. Wilmore was the first endowed chair in exercise physiology awarded at a major research institute in United States. In addition, his research and consultation with the Beckman Corporation helped pave the way for today's automated metabolic carts. And his research on body composition, human performance, thermoregulation, betablockers and exercise, obesity, gender and exercise effects on resting metabolic rate, and genetic adaptations to training are some of the most influential studies in clinical and sports performance exercise physiology.While Dr. Wilmore's professional accomplishments were exceptional, when I look back at my time with him, I can tell you first-hand, Dr. Wilmore's day-to-day life always honored God, family, and caring for others before his own personal goals and desired accomplishments. For many years, he helped organize and contribute to the Christian Fellowship Breakfast held each year during ACSM's annual scientific meeting. In the 31 years I had the honor of knowing and working with Dr. Wilmore, not once did he ever stop showing us that those principles were always at the core of his being. While I was his doctoral student, Dr. Wilmore played a critical role in two major events in my life. In 1985, directly as a result of my wife and Dr. Wilmore, I accepted Christ in my life as my Lord and Savior. I remember Dr. Wilmore and Dottie, his wife, coming to my baptism. I remember him giving me the biggest hug and congratulating me on my decision. Suddenly, I was not simply his student and he my doctoral mentor; we were now brothers in Christ. The second major event was in 1989 when my wife was diagnosed with a rare and very deadly disease called clear cell ovarian cancer while I was a doctoral student. Dr. Wilmore as department head, our UT faculty, and my fellow students supported us in ways that were family-like. Dr. Wilmore's examples led the way because that is how his lab and exercise science program always felt—like family!I am sure that each and every person who had the opportunity to work with and get to know Dr. Wilmore feel as I do when I say that his professional career was nothing less than exceptional, but the life he lived and shared with all of us is why he will always be one of the most respected people in our profession. To close, I believe it is most fitting to finish with Dr. Wilmore's own words from his acceptance speech when he was honored with the 2010 Hetherington Award from the National Academy of Kinesiology: