In Memory of William Grana, MD, MPH

William Grana, MD, MPH
(1942-2013)

I regret to share with you the sad news of the recent death of Bill Grana, a long time and enthusiastic member of the Editorial Board of The American Journal of Orthopedics. Bill passed away on February 1, 2013 after a short battle with cancer.

Bill joined the Editorial Board of AJO in 2006 as Associate Editor of Sports Medicine. In that capacity, he provided prompt and insightful comments on many submissions to AJO and, as Editor-in-Chief, I came to rely enormously on his sound judgment.

Bill grew up in St. Louis Missouri where he met his wife, Susan, in their local high school. He was an All Ivy member of the Harvard football team from 1961-1963, and married Susan in 1965. Following graduation from Harvard Medical School, he and Susan returned to St. Louis where Bill entered the orthopedic residency program at Washington University. His residency was interrupted by a two-year tour in the Air Force where he was stationed and Tucson, Arizona, and served as an advisor in Vietnam as part of a US State Department program to help the Vietnamese run their provincial hospital system.

Following his residency, Bill completed a sports medicine fellowship in 1975 at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center under the mentorship of Dr. Don O'Donoghue, one of the founding fathers of the specialty of Sports Medicine. Bill remained in Oklahoma City for the majority of his career. In 1983, he founded the state’s first multidisciplinary sports medicine facility and became director of the Sports Medicine Program. In 2000, he returned to Tucson, Arizona as Chairman, Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Arizona College Of Medicine from which he retired in 2011 as Professor Emeritus.

Bill served as President of American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine in 2005 and was the current Editor-in-Chief of Orthopedic Knowledge Online at the time of his death. He was very active in numerous professional societies and served as Team Physician at several Olympics and World University Games. His entire professional career was dedicated to teaching and education; he was also a prolific writer with over 200 publications.

However, as impressive as Bill’s professional career was, his most enduring attributes were his personal qualities. He was invariably available to me with wise counsel when, as a young editor, I needed guidance managing a professional Journal. His editorial comments were always succinct, pithy, and right on the mark. His low key and unassuming but extremely personable approach belied a keen and extremely sharp intellect. He was the quintessential gentleman and scholar and will be sorely missed by all those who had the great privilege to know and work with him.

—Peter D. McCann, MD
Editor-in-Chief
The American Journal of Orthopedics