Word of your retirement escaped the ever-expanding pile of unexamined mail in my office. It gave me pause to reflect on the tangible and lasting impact your diminutive powerhouse of a self has had on my own. Your academic mentoring, your words (and letters) of support, your example of integrity in its purest form, your comforting words of assurance during a dark passage of my life—all speak of an investment you made selflessly.
As I rough out the calculus and consider the hundreds upon hundreds of lives who have similarly passed through your gravitational field and continued on to their own places of influence and investment, I can see that your impact on the human condition in general—and the ethical delivery of healthcare in particular—exponentially approaches the immeasurable. Even as you close this rich and meaningful volume of your life's work and begin scribing the next, your clarion contributions will continue to resonate and empower those like me who were so fortunate as to hear the sounding from its origin.
With highest regard and gratitude,
Ross
