Willem Fourie: Obituary

Abstract

Willem Fourie graduated from the University of Pretoria in 1976 as a physiotherapist. A family man, husband, father, grandfather, and international expert in the field of research and science, he trained his sights on the treatment of scar tissue and the treatment of the consequences of surgical interventions in post-operative breast cancer patients. A talented therapist and a loving human being, Willem's work touched the lives of many. From 1986 to 1991 he was Control Physiotherapist at the Chamber of Mines (Cottesloe) Hospital, Johannesburg. During this period Willem was also Head of Physiotherapy at Westvaal Hospital, Vaal Reefs Gold Mine, Orkney. He gained experience in sports physiotherapy at both the provincial and international level and he had extensive experience of treating trauma and providing effective rehabilitation for workers in the mining industry. Willem was competent in his knowledge of anatomy generally and fascia specifically. His reserved disposition was one of his enduring traits and when it came to the topic of fascia or scar therapy Willem was a leading authoritative figure on the global stage. In 2017 he gave a talk on urogynaecology for surgeons in Cape Town on how scars influence the pelvic floor. He had been asked to lead and demonstrate a dissection afternoon on the fascia of the pelvic floor/abdomen relationships, and his time spent as a dissector in the School of Anatomical Sciences of the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School in Johannesburg, South Africa paid off generously as the surgeons and others involved gained much from the presentation. Willem also had a strong interest in the topic of anatomy and fascia. He offered his skills and knowledge in the Department of Anatomy and Human Identification, University of Dundee, at the 2018 biotensegrity-focused Thiel cadaver dissection course, and his dissection skills and knowledge of anatomy provided valuable insight to all attendees. In his leisure time, Willem loved to cycle. On one occasion he wrote describing the wonderful day he had spent cycling in the Cotswolds in south central England while on one of his many touring workshops wandering the globe, and it was a travesty to learn of Willem's death due to a road traffic accident while out riding his bike close to his home in Johannesburg in South Africa. Though his clinical practice in physiotherapy was situated in South Africa, Willem traveled extensively, presenting at conferences and providing workshops and short courses to thousands of therapists across the globe, providing a special focus on scar tissue due to post-operative breast cancer treatment. On one such occasion in 2017, Willem and I sat in a Bistro in the Ivanhoe Inn on Saintfield Road, Carryduff, in Belfast, taking a short but well-deserved break while on a teaching tour that would include Manchester and Holland before returning to South Africa. During that conversation, armed with a quick wit and a keen appetite for conversation, Willem talked about one of the other loves of his life: craft beers. Willem loved a great tasting craft beer and he loved a good conversation about the time and effort that goes into producing it. Willem Fourie was a complete one-off and his spirit of sharing, educating, and his focus on detail will be sorely missed. His legacy will live on in those therapists who were fortunate enough to have shared his knowledge, skills and experience. Willie, as he was affectionately known, is survived by his loving wife Trudie, his children Elsa (Manie), Lizelle (Wynand), Pieter (Brenna) and Willem, his sister Susan, his grandchildren, his family and his many friends around the world.