Dr. Robert N. Butler, ‘The Father of Geriatrics,’President and CEO of ILC-USA Is Dead
Dr. Robert Neil Butler, President and CEO of ILC-USA died at 10:30 PM on July 4, 2010
(US Eastern Time) at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. He was 83 and the cause
was acute leukemia.
As he stated in the interview with TIME Magazine in June, ”I
am looking forward to working ‘indefinitely’,” he assumed
Professor of his alma mater Colombia University in 2010, andcontinued working vigorously until just three days before hisdeath.

Dr. Butler was deploying energetic activities, getting oversorrow of the death of Dr. Myrna I. Lewis, his wife and also aworking partner in 2005. We heard the sad news unexpectedly
in such circumstance. He loved Japanese food, and an eager
participant of the weekend Walking Club in Central Park. Everyone around him believed
he would play further active role toward future.

Every country in the world is facing the reality of aging today, and sharing the challenges
common to human beings. The world was just on the point of seeking for Dr. Butler’s
wisdom and insight.
Having greatly influenced upon awareness-raising about older people not only in the US
but in the world, Dr. Butler was regarded as ‘The Father of Geriatrics’ or ‘The Pioneer.’ Heleft the message, ‘…the 30 years of life that people gained in the twentieth century ought
not be greeted with gloom and doom, but seen for what they are as to be celebrated,
understood and appreciated.’ He advocated repeatedly: we must be free from prejudice thatolder people are ‘burdensome,’ ‘useless’ or ‘dotard,’ because they are cheerful fellows who,
as well as younger people, could be productive, positively participate in society, and be
blessed with flexible thinking.
Graduated from College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Centerin 1953, he started his career as a psychiatrist. Butler’s approach to aging was shaped
1through his childhood experiences. He initiated in 1961 the Life Review as a therapeutic
device, which has currently become established worldwide as one of the epoch-making
therapies against dementia. He coined the term ‘Ageism’ in 1968 and strived to abolishage-discrimination actively. Since he offered an ethos of ‘Productive Aging’ in 1982, hecontinued to voice, “We should not hold discrimination or prejudice toward older people associally weak. Instead we should recognize older people could remain an integral part ofsociety even in older age.”His excellent book “Why Survive?：Being Old in America” won aPulitzer Prize in 1976, which has been regarded as the Bible forlearners of gerontology. Reading it once again now, we are still
overwhelmed by its deep insights and foresights. Dr. Butler publishedtogether with his wife Dr. Myrna Lewis the bestselling “Love and Sex
after Sixty,” which commanded interest of Baby Boomers amongothers.

Dr. Butler continued to exercise leadership since the foundation of ILC-USA in 1990 as
the President for 20 years and also as a Co-chair of the Global Alliance since 2009.
Dr. Butler, who visited Japan to serve as a panelist of the international symposium held by
the Asahi Shimbun “Thinking over Aging Society” in 1987, met Mr. Shigeo Morioka, Hon.
President of ILC-Japan (President of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. at that time). It
was the first opportunity for both to exchange opinions positively about the vision of theglobal project concerning aging issues. After three years of preparatory work with theoverall guidance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (currently Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare), ILC was established in Japan and USA in 1990 and launched a grandproject concerning international and interdisciplinary survey and research, and educationand publication of aging issues.

Dr. Butler aged 63 then was the founding Director of the National Institute on Aging at theUS National Institutes of Health, then became the founding Chair of the Department ofGeriatrics at Mount Sinai Medical School in NY, and subsequently he made effort to2

establish and place in orbit diverse aging related organizations in the US. Dr. Butler wasalready a man of great statue in the field of aging issues.

The first US-Japan Annual Meeting at Mount Sinai Medical Center in 1991
Second from left：Mr. Shigeo Morioka, Hon. President of ILC-Japan, Center：Dr. Robert N. Butler,
Second from right：Dr. Hideo Ibe, first President of ILC-Japan

Internationally, Dr. Butler chaired the 1st International Assembly on Aging held by theUnited Nations in 1982. His speech at the Salzburg Seminar in 1983 was so impressive thatit passed into legend. After the foundation of ILC-USA, in particular, he tirelessly
developed energetic activities. In 1995 President Clinton named him Chairman of the 1995
White House Conference on Aging, and thereafter he played an important role at all the 2nd,3rd and 4th Conferences. In the 2nd UN International Assembly on Aging in 2002, hesubmitted “The Declaration of Human Rights of Older Persons,” which was approved by
the delegates from the 160 nations in the world and formed the backbone of the final report.
In honor of such activities, the Heinz Family Foundation presented him with the 10th HeinzAward for Human Condition in 2003 for his contribution to improvement of rights, needs
and QOL of older people in the US. Additionally he was selected one of “the 250 greatestColumbians” in celebration of the University’s 250th anniversary in 2004. He wasconsistently standing out from all the others in his great achievement.

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Also in writing, showing no sign of slowing down, he published an over 600-page
voluminous work “Longevity Revolution” in 2008, and “Longevity Prescription” in May
2010.

In the meantime, the ILC member countries increased to 12centers. We are developing collaboration as ILC GlobalAlliance.
ILC has promoted unique activities as a community of
research and practice, for instance, holding symposiums on
the occasion of international conferences on the theme of“Human Rights in an Aging World,” “Do Health andLongevity Generate Wealth?” “The Role and Status of
Women in an Aging Society,” “Living Longer, WorkingLonger,” etc., and tackling in a cooperative way selectionand solution of challenges in respective country.

Surely, all these achievements were made possible by great foresight and global view ofour visionary leader Dr. Robert Butler.
Dr. Butler was truly living proof of “Productive Aging.” Following in Dr. Butler’sfootsteps, ILC-Japan intend to continue to make effort for the attainment of human rights ofolder people and “Productive Aging” in collaboration with other centers of ILC GlobalAlliance.

Finally we pray sincerely for the repose of Dr. Butler’s soul.
(A memorial service in his honor was held on September 29th at 4 P.M. at All Soul's Unitarian
Church in upper Manhattan.)

Articles ： ILC-USA http://www.ilcusa.org/
NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/health/research/07butler.html
TIME http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2002134,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

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