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‘A Passion for The Profession of Pharmacy’
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'A Passion for The Profession of Pharmacy' Eulogy for WilliaOl S. Apple By GROVER C. BOWLES
Grover C. Bowles delivered the eulogy for William S. Apple on December 20, 1983. Dr. Bowles served 21 years as an elected official of the Association, including terms as President (now called Chairman) and Treasurer, and was a close personal friend of Dr. Apple. He is director of the department of pharmacy at Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, TN.
W
e have gathered together to honor and to remember Bill Apple-whose name, for the past twenty-five years, has been inseparable from the names American Pharmaceutical Association and Pharmacy. In a statement following his death, Morry Bectel, the Chairman of the APhA Board of Trustees, described Bill Apple as one of the profession's "most dynamic modern leaders." Bill certainly is already entitled to that assessment. His devotion to pharmacy and his tireless efforts on behalf of the profession and individual pharmacists throughout his career will take years to catalog and even many more years to appreciate. In remembering him, I would not even attempt to recount even a few of Bill's contributions. I'm sure that Lucille would never forgive me if I did. Rather, I am going to remember Bill on a more personal basis, because I know that as I do so, each of you will treasure your own personal recollections of Bill and his life of service to his profession, to society, and to his family and friends.
I
t was my privilege to have worked closely with Bill Apple throughout almost the entire period during which he served as chief executive officer of our national professional society. In our working relationship, we became close personal friends and, over the years, shared many confidences, many happy occasions, and a few sad ones too. But, in all of the problems that we shared together, and in some burdens that Bill shared with no one, I knew that he would eventually come up with his smile and his cigar and his positive approach to getting things done. Those people who have known Bill well know that he was a "doer." He wanted to see things accomplished. So many of us can remember Bill dismissing a particular activity as "just a lot of talk." Bill didn't Want to talk about goals that might be achieved; he wanted to get about the business of achieving them . ....... American Pharmacy Vol. NS24, No. 2, February 1984/57
And, he found acceptable only one way of pursuing goals and addressing issues facing the professionwith candor and with integrity.
M
any of you have heard or read the numerous speeches-some would call them lectures-that Bill delivered to pharmacy audiences throughout his career. Many of you will now study his words again. All of us should. They reveal a man unafraid to face the issues, a man unafraid to tell the truth as he perceived it, and a man unafraid of the future. Bill was never intimidated by the future, nor was he intimidated by the day-today requirements that he faced in dealing with con-
5
With APIzA Treasurer Hugo H. Schaefer (l.) a1ld Harry J. Anslinger (c.), first U.S. commissioner of narcotics, 011 occasion of Anslinger's receipt of Remington Medal in 1962.
temporary pharmacy problems and opportunities. Bill was, after all, a teacher-and he well understood that the cardinal objective of education is to prepare us for the future. Some pharmacists may have thQught that Bill Apple was too concerned about the future and not sufficiently involved in the present-day problems of the profession. Such a perception could only be based on a lack of understanding of how Bill could find the time to contemplate both current and future matters of concern to pharmacy. Those of us who worked closely with him know that he did not "find" timehe "made" it.
U
nder Darwin's theory of evolution, Bill Apple should have grown a telephone as a natural appendage. Visitors to the Apple home know of Bill's office there, and anyone who received late evening and early morning telephone calls from him knows that my earlier reference to Bill's "tireless efforts on behalf of the profession" were words with real meaning. Bill's life can well be described as being guided by a passion for the profession of pharm.acy.
B
ill complemented his passion for pharmacy with two other objects of his total devotion. The first of these, of course, was his family. Bill was an incredibly hardworking man, but he was never oblivious to his role as husband and father. His pride in his family and his appreciation for their understanding acceptance of his other love-pharmacy-was often expressed to those who knew just how hard Bill worked to fulfill his obligations to all who needed him. Bill related to his family, to his friends, and to his professional colleagues with deep emotion. He was a strong man in most respects, but he will also be remembered as a man who could be overwhelmed by hi~ feelings of joy, sadness, and love. Many of you wIll recall the depth of his sadness when he talked about the los~ of his daughter, Charlene, only to recover soon WIth a happy remark about his "wonderful children," Chandra and Hugh. Many of you also will
6
remember Bill's tears of love and pride as he stood on - this pulpit on the joyous occasion of Hugh's Bar Mitzvah. Many of you are aware that Bill's great passion-besides that for his family and for pharmacy-was for football and the Washington Redskins. If one missed the outcome of a Redskinsgame, the report was available on Bill's face the next day. Bill identified with winning, and for many seasons as a Redskins fan, he enjoyed many fewer victories than he mourned losses. Last year, when his team was in and won the Superbowl, Bill's career as a football fan really seemed complete. But, this year the Redskins "put the frosting on the cake" for Bill Apple. What a great and fitting experience it was for him to have enjoyedminutes before his death-a Redskins championship victory at Washington's RFK Stadium.
T
his past year, Bill announced that he planned to retire. I am convinced that he made this decision not because he wanted to, but because he felt that it was the right thing to do. For Bill, the word "tireless" -had begun to lose its meaning. He knew that he did not have the stamina ' he had possessed as a younger man. He knew that he had made his mark in and on the profession. He knew that it was time. And yet, although he had committed himself to retiring from APhA, I cannot conceive of his having contemplated retirement in terms of withdrawing from active professional life. Had he the opportunity, pharmacists would have heard more lectures, would have read more papers, and probably would have bought at least one more of Bill Apple's "best sellers." is our great loss that these opportunities have .Iple,tthemselves now been lost. -But, students of Bill Apwe should not mourn the loss of what might have been. We must celebrate the brilliant legacy that we have received from Bill Apple. We must celebrate the man and his work. We must remember Bill not only in terms of what we have lost, but in terms of what we have gained from his life and service among us. We must celebrate, as he did and as he would want and expect us to do-the future. D
American Pharmacy Vol. NS24, No. 2, February 19841
'A Passion for The Profession of Pharmacy' Eulogy for WilliaOl S. Apple By GROVER C. BOWLES
Grover C. Bowles delivered the eulogy for William S. Apple on December 20, 1983. Dr. Bowles served 21 years as an elected official of the Association, including terms as President (now called Chairman) and Treasurer, and was a close personal friend of Dr. Apple. He is director of the department of pharmacy at Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, TN.
W
e have gathered together to honor and to remember Bill Apple-whose name, for the past twenty-five years, has been inseparable from the names American Pharmaceutical Association and Pharmacy. In a statement following his death, Morry Bectel, the Chairman of the APhA Board of Trustees, described Bill Apple as one of the profession's "most dynamic modern leaders." Bill certainly is already entitled to that assessment. His devotion to pharmacy and his tireless efforts on behalf of the profession and individual pharmacists throughout his career will take years to catalog and even many more years to appreciate. In remembering him, I would not even attempt to recount even a few of Bill's contributions. I'm sure that Lucille would never forgive me if I did. Rather, I am going to remember Bill on a more personal basis, because I know that as I do so, each of you will treasure your own personal recollections of Bill and his life of service to his profession, to society, and to his family and friends.
I
t was my privilege to have worked closely with Bill Apple throughout almost the entire period during which he served as chief executive officer of our national professional society. In our working relationship, we became close personal friends and, over the years, shared many confidences, many happy occasions, and a few sad ones too. But, in all of the problems that we shared together, and in some burdens that Bill shared with no one, I knew that he would eventually come up with his smile and his cigar and his positive approach to getting things done. Those people who have known Bill well know that he was a "doer." He wanted to see things accomplished. So many of us can remember Bill dismissing a particular activity as "just a lot of talk." Bill didn't Want to talk about goals that might be achieved; he wanted to get about the business of achieving them . ....... American Pharmacy Vol. NS24, No. 2, February 1984/57
And, he found acceptable only one way of pursuing goals and addressing issues facing the professionwith candor and with integrity.
M
any of you have heard or read the numerous speeches-some would call them lectures-that Bill delivered to pharmacy audiences throughout his career. Many of you will now study his words again. All of us should. They reveal a man unafraid to face the issues, a man unafraid to tell the truth as he perceived it, and a man unafraid of the future. Bill was never intimidated by the future, nor was he intimidated by the day-today requirements that he faced in dealing with con-
5
With APIzA Treasurer Hugo H. Schaefer (l.) a1ld Harry J. Anslinger (c.), first U.S. commissioner of narcotics, 011 occasion of Anslinger's receipt of Remington Medal in 1962.
temporary pharmacy problems and opportunities. Bill was, after all, a teacher-and he well understood that the cardinal objective of education is to prepare us for the future. Some pharmacists may have thQught that Bill Apple was too concerned about the future and not sufficiently involved in the present-day problems of the profession. Such a perception could only be based on a lack of understanding of how Bill could find the time to contemplate both current and future matters of concern to pharmacy. Those of us who worked closely with him know that he did not "find" timehe "made" it.
U
nder Darwin's theory of evolution, Bill Apple should have grown a telephone as a natural appendage. Visitors to the Apple home know of Bill's office there, and anyone who received late evening and early morning telephone calls from him knows that my earlier reference to Bill's "tireless efforts on behalf of the profession" were words with real meaning. Bill's life can well be described as being guided by a passion for the profession of pharm.acy.
B
ill complemented his passion for pharmacy with two other objects of his total devotion. The first of these, of course, was his family. Bill was an incredibly hardworking man, but he was never oblivious to his role as husband and father. His pride in his family and his appreciation for their understanding acceptance of his other love-pharmacy-was often expressed to those who knew just how hard Bill worked to fulfill his obligations to all who needed him. Bill related to his family, to his friends, and to his professional colleagues with deep emotion. He was a strong man in most respects, but he will also be remembered as a man who could be overwhelmed by hi~ feelings of joy, sadness, and love. Many of you wIll recall the depth of his sadness when he talked about the los~ of his daughter, Charlene, only to recover soon WIth a happy remark about his "wonderful children," Chandra and Hugh. Many of you also will
6
remember Bill's tears of love and pride as he stood on - this pulpit on the joyous occasion of Hugh's Bar Mitzvah. Many of you are aware that Bill's great passion-besides that for his family and for pharmacy-was for football and the Washington Redskins. If one missed the outcome of a Redskinsgame, the report was available on Bill's face the next day. Bill identified with winning, and for many seasons as a Redskins fan, he enjoyed many fewer victories than he mourned losses. Last year, when his team was in and won the Superbowl, Bill's career as a football fan really seemed complete. But, this year the Redskins "put the frosting on the cake" for Bill Apple. What a great and fitting experience it was for him to have enjoyedminutes before his death-a Redskins championship victory at Washington's RFK Stadium.
T
his past year, Bill announced that he planned to retire. I am convinced that he made this decision not because he wanted to, but because he felt that it was the right thing to do. For Bill, the word "tireless" -had begun to lose its meaning. He knew that he did not have the stamina ' he had possessed as a younger man. He knew that he had made his mark in and on the profession. He knew that it was time. And yet, although he had committed himself to retiring from APhA, I cannot conceive of his having contemplated retirement in terms of withdrawing from active professional life. Had he the opportunity, pharmacists would have heard more lectures, would have read more papers, and probably would have bought at least one more of Bill Apple's "best sellers." is our great loss that these opportunities have .Iple,tthemselves now been lost. -But, students of Bill Apwe should not mourn the loss of what might have been. We must celebrate the brilliant legacy that we have received from Bill Apple. We must celebrate the man and his work. We must remember Bill not only in terms of what we have lost, but in terms of what we have gained from his life and service among us. We must celebrate, as he did and as he would want and expect us to do-the future. D
American Pharmacy Vol. NS24, No. 2, February 19841