Obituaries

William R. Ramsey

William R. Ramsey, the former executive director of the American Society of Internal Medicine, died on Aug. 23, 2010 at the age of 83.

Mr. Ramsey served with distinction as executive director of the ASIM from 1968 to 1978 and executive vice president of the organization from 1978 to 1985. He spearheaded the 1978 move of the ASIM headquarters from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., and recruited and trained individuals who currently have senior management positions within ACP, which merged with ASIM in 1998. In 2006, the ACP Board of Regents bestowed on Mr. Ramsey the title of Executive Vice President Emeritus for his lasting contributions to ASIM, internal medicine and ACP.

Pablo E. Fletcher, MACP

Pablo E. Fletcher, MACP, an endocrinologist, died on April 1, 2010 at the age of 84.

Dr. Fletcher was chair of the department of medicine at the University of Panama and national director of the social security system in the Republic of Panama, which provides health care for 85% of the country's population. He received the Best Teacher Award from the Biannual Graduating Classes of the School of Medicine at the University of Panama 37 times. He is credited with eradicating cretinism in Panama and has worked with endocrinologists throughout Central and South America to address the problem in those areas.

Dr. Fletcher became a Master of the College in 1995 and served as ACP Governor for the Central America Chapter in 1988-1992. He was the Laureate Award winner from Central America in 1998.