William M. Kane, Ph.D., CHES (Bill Kane), age 59, former Executive Director of the American Association for Health Education and Vice President of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, passed away in Red Lodge, Montana on March 7, 2007. Bill had a long career as an educator and advocate of health for all. We remember Bill as a friend--a model for living life to its fullest as well as to its healthiest. Always surprising--quite notably in his personal style--in recent years Bill could be spotted at professional conferences wearing a hat, cowboy boots, starched jeans and his signature handlebar moustache. He was witty, engaging, industrious and smart, and brought plain-talking, Midwest sense to problem solving. He was equally successful at meeting both professional challenges--such as the creation of a fiscally healthy association for preventive medicine physicians--as well as personal ones--such as the defiance of a two-months-to-live prognosis when diagnosed with terminal cancer almost two years ago.
Bill's energy and inventiveness were well-matched to his daring, can-do spirit. In the 1980s, he stumbled upon a tired, ailing hotel while vacationing in Fiji. In short order he bought the property and turned it into not only a world-class diving resort, but a thriving, sustainable enterprise for the island's community members. In the 1990s, Bill turned his creative energy to viticulture and developed an award-winning vineyard with his wife, Ann, in Los Lunas, New Mexico. Every harvest they would invite friends to help 'crush' grapes and bottle wine.
Born in Emmetsburg, Iowa, Bill was the only son of Leo and Phyllis Kane. He received his academic degrees from Emmetsburg Community College (AA in Liberal Arts, 1967), Northwest Missouri State University (BS in Health and Safety, 1969), University of Utah (MS in Health Education, 1970) and the University of Oregon (Ph. D. in Educational Policy & Management, 1977). He began his career as a public school teacher in New York and Arizona, continuing thereafter as a university professor in Wisconsin, San Diego, Washington, D.C., and New Mexico. In addition to his work at AAHE/AAHPERD, he held professional positions as Director of School Health Programs at ETR Associates (Scotts Valley, Calif.), and Executive Director of the American College of Preventive Medicine (Washington, D.C.). Since 1991, Bill had been a professor of health education in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. He received many awards from major health organizations for his contributions to health education, public health and preventive medicine.
Bill also headed and served on many non-profit boards, including the Domestic and Sexual Violence Services of Carbon County in Montana, ETR Associates, the Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education, the American Association for Health Education, and the National School Health Education Coalition. He worked with President Jimmy Carter and his wife Roselyn on issues of global health and world peace at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He was vice-president for research and professional development of the North American Regional Office of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (NARO/IUHPE), and he was a founding member of the Mohan Singh Society.
Recently, Bill received several honors. The American Association for Health Education recognized him by naming a 'William Kane Scholarship,' which will be awarded annually to an outstanding undergraduate student majoring in health education. The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACMP) also recognized Bill for outstanding leadership. Bill was credited with the restoration and development of a solid financial status for the organization, recognized for his leadership in launching the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and for his development of the College's continuing education program. In 2005, ACPM renamed an award The William Kane Rising Star Award, for an ACPM member who has shown 'a commitment to preventive medicine and the potential to make significant contributions to the field of preventive medicine and its organizations'. The first recipient of the renamed award is Paul D. Rockswold, MD, MPH, Deputy Command Surgeon for Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan. Dr. Rockswold was on hand to receive the award in person from Bill at the ACPM annual awards banquet in Florida, shortly before Bill died.
In his professional life, Bill Kane will be remembered for his contributions to health education and health promotion. A strong proponent of the work of the AAHE and AAHPERD, Bill Kane was a familiar presence at Association and Alliance meetings, and contributed much to the growth of the organizations and their members. Bill was also an active peer reviewer for the the American Journal of Health Education.
He was a prolific writer, having authored many health education textbooks and curricula used in classrooms throughout the United States. One of his most widely know texts is Healthy Living: An Active Approach to Wellness (Bobbs-Merrill, 1985) designed for secondary school students. He was a staunch advocate for theory-based school health education, and effectively designed health behavior change strategies grounded in theory. As an academic advisor in health education for the University of New Mexico's College of Arts and Sciences, he actively supported the development of student opportunities and conducted career assessments for young professionals. He was known for his advocacy for health equity, social justice and health for all.
In his personal life, Bill loved people, and he was a caring and sharing friend to colleagues around the world. He was devoted to friends, family and to his wife, Ann. Together with Ann, he designed and helped build his dream home on Rock Creek in Red Lodge, Montana, even while fighting a terminal illness. He also took up painting and was well known as a accomplished chef. In his 2006 commencement address to the University of New Mexico's College of Education, he quoted Lord Byron as saying 'Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine'--advice he heeded every day. He lived an abundant life, never forgetting that life was a gift to be shared.
In addition to his wife, Ann Woodrow Kane of Red Lodge, he is survived by her daughter, Kathryn Callahan of Joliet; sons Patrick (Pati) Callahan of Albuquerque, N.M., and Timothy (Jenny) Callahan of Roanoke, Va.; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; his mother, Phyllis Kane of Cylinder, Iowa; and sisters Sheryl (Harlan) Meints of Diamond Lake, Minn., Virginia (Dale) Hoffman of Graettinger, Iowa, and Therese (Chuck) Duhn of Emmetsburg, Iowa. He is also survived by 'brothers' Michael Bird of Albuquerque and Gabriel Josua Matana of Fiji; the Johns Family of Washington, D.C., his many friends in health education, public health and preventive medicine; and the community of Red Lodge, Montana.
A memorial service celebrated the life of Bill Kane on March 24, 2007, at St. Agnes Church in Red Lodge, Montana. Contributions can be made in his name to either the Beartooth Hospital and Health Center building fund, Box 590, Red Lodge, MT 59068; or the Billings Clinic Cancer Center building fund, Box 37000, Billings, MT 59107. Cards and letters can be sent to Ann Kane and Family, P.O. Box 505, Red Lodge, Montana 59068
Dr. William 'Bill' Kane will be missed by all who knew him, and by the profession. He was taken from us at too young an age, with too many things left in life to do, and too many people yet to inspire and enliven.
Contributed by: David A. Sleet, Ph.D., FAAHB, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Louise M. Gobron, MBA, MA, Georgia State University; Becky J. Smith, Ph.D., American Association for Health Education
