Dr. Willkens applied the same energy that he used for rheumatology to building up his community, believing arts and culture made life richer. He was the first board president of ACT Theatre. He provided free medical care to actors in need and is believed never to have missed a production. “Seattle was a bit of a rough-and-ready place in the 1960s,” said ACT Artistic Director Kurt Beattie. “He was a very cultural man who had a passion for the art form, and he gave you the feeling when you were around him that you were talking to an enormously well-rounded, exceptionally intelligent man who had a real heart.”
Bob Willkens will be sorely missed by the rheumatology community, not only in Seattle, but many parts of the U.S. and around the world.
Keith Elkon, MD
Head of the Division of Rheumatology
University of Washington, Seattle
