Abstract
On 29 December 2004 the world lost two highly respected and renowned wildlife veterinarians, Drs. Elizabeth (Beth) Storm Williams and her husband Edwin Thomas (Tom) Thorne, in a tragic car accident in northern Colorado. This wife and husband team of Laramie, WY, was renowned for their collaborative work in infectious diseases and management of wildlife, particularly chronic wasting disease and brucellosis. Along with colleagues and students in Wyoming and Colorado, Drs. Williams and Thorne investigated and published on many diseases of free-ranging wildlife. The deaths of two thoughtful, generous, and productive scientists is a great loss to their friends, students, collaborators, and colleagues in the veterinary, veterinary pathology, veterinary laboratory diagnostician, and wildlife disease research communities.
Dr. Beth Williams graduated from Purdue University with her DVM in 1977 and completed a residency and PhD in veterinary pathology from Colorado State University in 1981. While working on her dissertation research on Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in wildlife, Beth astutely recognized wasting disease of captive mule deer and elk as a spongiform encephalopathy. This event lead to her research interests in this field and culminated in her recognition as the foremost expert on chronic wasting disease in deer and elk in the USA. Beth was active and skilled in research, diagnostic veterinary pathology, and teaching. She was professor in veterinary sciences and an adjunct professor in zoology and physiology at the University of Wyoming and an adjunct professor in veterinary pathology at Colorado State University. The teaching awards she received recognized the quality of her relationships with and interest in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to chronic wasting disease, Beth, often in conjunction with her husband, worked on other wildlife problems, including diseases of black-footed ferrets and Wyoming toads. She served on several federal and national committees assessing spongiform encephalopathies for the US Food and Drug Administration, National Research Council, and Institute of Medicine. Beth was a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and active with the Wildlife Disease Association, The Wildlife Society, American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, and Wyoming Veterinary Medical Associations. In addition to numerous research collaborations and publishing extensively, Beth coedited the latest edition of Infectious Diseases of Wild Mammals and was editor of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
In 2003, Dr. Tom Thorne retired from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department after 35 years of service. Tom graduated with his DVM from Oklahoma State University in 1967 and started his career as a wildlife veterinarian by supervising research projects and providing veterinary care for the Wyoming Game and Fish department. He progressed to services division chief and was acting director of the department prior to his retirement. Tom was a prominent researcher of brucellosis, tuberculosis, and chronic wasting disease in wild ungulates; was involved in management of bighorn sheep; and initiated the successful captive breeding program for endangered black-footed ferrets. He authored and coauthored many publications and served on numerous state and national wildlife disease committees. Tom remained active as a consultant in wildlife disease for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, in the Wildlife Disease Association, and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians and was on the editorial board of the Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
Beth was completing this invited review on chronic wasting disease for Veterinary Pathology at the time of her death. The sudden death of an author presents a difficult situation as far as continuation of the piece and whether posthumous collaborators are appropriate. The decision to continue was made quickly and easily because the near-final state of this manuscript required little interpolation. In conjunction with two of Beth's collaborators, minor posthumous changes were made to update the content and in response to the invaluable input from the manuscript reviewers. Spongiform encephalopathies are a timely topic, and this review on chronic wasting disease is an acknowledgment of Beth's professional skills as a veterinary pathologist and a researcher in wildlife diseases.