I met Bill Olson around 1987 or so when he came to visit my father and I at
our lab and asked us to help him evaluate a new material that he was
involved with developing for the fabrication of custom foot orthoses.  Bill
presented his new material to us and showed us all his scientific data and
fancy graphs demonstrating the material's excellent properties and explained
why he felt it would be an excellent material for fabricating functional
orthoses.  As we all know, the only real way to test an orthotic material is
to first bend it with two hands in a manner that would never occur within a
shoe and to then place it on the counter and firmly press down in the arch
with one's thumb several times while stabilizing the orthosis with the other
hand in order to "test" the stiffness or flexibility of the material.  So we
did!

I believe the first thing that my father Merton Root said was, "Bill, this
really isn't a very well made functional orthosis that you have here".
After what was probably a fairly long discussion about how to make a "true"
functional orthosis and which probably seemed like an eternity to Bill, the
humble and apologetic Dr. Olson said, "But what do you think of the
material?".  Mert commented that he really liked the resiliency of the
material and we agreed to assist him in testing it clinically.  That was the
start of a wonderful relationship with Bill Olson.

Bill Olson is without question, one of the most decent and wonderful people
I have ever met.  For about ten years, Bill would make an annual stop with
his family to visit my wife and I while they were on their way up to their
Christmas ski vacation.  We would have lunch and pie together and talk
mostly of podiatry and raising a family.  Bill's two daughters are about ten
years older than my two sons, the second of whom wasn't even born when we
first started having our annual lunch.  It was literally like receiving an
annual Christmas card from the Olson's but instead of a photograph, it was
the family in person.  I watched his two young daughters grow into beautiful
and wonderful young women.  His children did not turn out to be so wonderful
by chance, but because they had two caring, involved, dedicated, and loving
parents.

Needless to say, Bill has been an inspiration to me in both my personal and
professional life.  Bill was an outstanding role model as both a person and
a podiatrist.  My heart goes out to his wife Margaret and to their two
daughters and I echo the sense of loss that the profession of podiatry feels
in losing one of the finest practitioners I have known.

Peace be with you Bill,

Your friend and admirer,
Jeff Root

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