Topic: Dr. Burgdorfer obituary from funeral chapel
Ann-OH
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2020
posted
Here is the obituary for Dr. Burgdorfer posted on the Hamilton, MT, funeral chapel's website. I split it up for easier reading. You can write a tribute there. He was truly brilliant, and always full of joy…. Ann - OH
Dr. Wilhelm (Willy) Burgdorfer, 89, of Hamilton passed away at the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospice. He was born June 27, 1925 in Basel, Switzerland, the son of Karl and Else Burgdorfer.
Willy was raised in Basel. He received his undergraduate and PhD degrees in Zoology, Parasitology and Bacteriology from the University in Basel and the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel. He served in the Swiss Army for three years.
Three days before Christmas in 1951, he came to the Rocky Mountain Lab as a research fellow. In 1953, he married Dale See and they had two children, William and Carl.
Willy became a US citizen in 1957 and joined the staff at RML as a medical entomologist.
Most of his research was between animal and human disease agents and their transmitting arthropod vectors: particularly ticks, fleas and mosquitoes.
He investigated relapsing fevers, plaque, Tularemia, Colorado tick fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other bacterial and viral diseases.
Willy received many honors and awards during his career. Among them:
Montana Governors Citation, 1985;
Midwest Lyme Disease Assoc. for describing Borrelia Burgdorferi as the causative agent in Lyme Disease, 1989;
Honorary Dr. of Science Degree, Montana State University, 1990;
Honorary M.D. Degree, University of Marseille, 1991;
Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, Ohio State University, 1994;
Distinguished Achievement Award, Society for Vector Ecology, Berkeley, 2000;
Scientist Emeritus, MIH, 2003.
The most prestigious was the Robert Koch Medal, Bonn, Germany, 1988.
In 1982, he gained world-wide recognition for his discovery of a tick-borne Spirochete as the long-sought cause of Lyme disease.
Willy was well known in Hamilton for his community participation.
He bowled and kept the records; played [in a} Jazz band on weekends; starred in Kiwanis Melodramas; rode his bicycle around town announcing the Kiwanis Annual Pancake Breakfast with his bullhorn. He also served as President and Lieutenant Governor.
Willy began the city soccer program for youngsters and helped build the Hamilton Golf Course.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Karl and Else Burgdorfer and his wife Dale See Burgdorfer.
He is survived by his wife, Lois of Hamilton; two sons, Bill (Barbara) of Dillon, MT and Carl (Jill) of Eugene, OR; grandchildren, Alex and Madison Burgdorfer of Eugene; brother, Karl (Marily) of Basel, Switzerland.
The family suggests memorials to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 600 South 3rd St., Hamilton, MT 59840
Funeral Information
Services
A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday (Nov 22nd) at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Hamilton. Cremation has taken place. Private family urn placement will take place at Riverview Cemetery in Hamilton. A reception will follow the service at St. Paul's.
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