Obituary of William "Bill" George West

Dr. William “Bill” George West was born on July 3rd, 1948, in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. He died on November 23rd, 2023, at Abbott Northwestern hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota from complications from COVID pneumonia.

His life was an adventure, and he traveled the globe in search of new experiences and dishes to master. He also was a lover of theater, literature, and rhetoric. His greatest devotion, however, was to his family. He believed at a fundamental level that he amused the Universe, and in return was blessed with family, friends and love that made life joyful, varied, and complete. In living this way, he was a muse for us to carry our beauty and laughter united into a passion for existence throughout our world. He was an inspiration of acceptance for others and freedom of expression.

Bill had a brilliant and diverse career in rhetoric, health communication and hospital management. This included cofounding a theater troupe while a student at UND, coauthoring the first AIDS hospital protocols at UCSF, translating Derrida into English while at the Sorbonne, completing his PhD in medieval languages at Oxford and the U of M, and building hospitals for Harvard International in China and Scotland. After returning to Minnesota, he managed operating rooms for HCMC while also being a lecturer in Writing Studies, founded a course on humanistic healthcare, and was a coinvestigator on several NIH studies at the U of M focused on addressing health disparities of LGBT cancer patients.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, James and Cecelia West, and his sister, JoAnn. He spent the last 23 years of his life with his beloved husband and partner, Prof. Simon Rosser. He is survived also by his sister, Mary Davidson; his children, Christopher West, Geneviève West, and Louis (and Alicia) Teerlinck; three grandchildren, Sylvester West, Cecelia West, and Jasper Teerlink, as well as nieces and nephews, and extended family in Texas, North Dakota, Canada and New Zealand.

Bill thought it elegant, when at the end of a play, the actors just quietly exited the stage. In accordance with his wishes and character, there will be no mourning service. Rather, the honoring of his life will be championed by the continuance of those he loved. His ashes will be spread at the base of a volcano in Hawaii, to become a part of new creation and the amusement of life, forever.