Public health’s humble giant - The Iola Register

Public health’s humble giant - The Iola Register

Bill Foege, who oversaw the eradication of smallpox, was soft-spoken, self-effacing, and focused on other people’s achievements more than his own. I met Bill Foege only once in my life. My ten-minute conversation with the epidemiologist, who died in January at age 89, is one I’ll never forget. I had just preached at the Chautauqua Institute in New York State and was exiting the service with other worshipers when Bill and his wife, Paula, walked …