Memoriam: James R Beazell, DPT, FAAOMPT, OCS, ATC

April 25, 1951–January 20, 2011​2011 Figure 1 Manual physical therapy lost a great friend when James R. Beazell passed away on January 20, 2011 after a courageous battle with metastatic melanoma. He was born in Watsonville, CA on April 25, 1951. Dr. Beazell’s career spanned more than 30 years as a physical therapist and athletic trainer. He also obtained advanced recognition as a Fellow of the American Academy of Manual Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT) and an Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist (OCS). His educational background included a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from San Francisco State University in 1979 where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, a master’s degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California in 1981, and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007. Dr. Beazell’s professional career began in Northern California working at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco and at HealthSouth in Santa Rosa. During this time Dr. Beazell also served as an athletic trainer for local rugby teams as well as the United States Rugby Team. Dr. Beazell was also a strong supporter of continuing education and life long learning. In the early 1990’s he began teaching with the Institute of Physical Art and was also an instructor in the HealthSouth National Spine Program. In 1998, Dr. Beazell moved to Charlottesville, Virginia where he served as the clinical coordinator at the University of Virginia/HealthSouth Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinic. During this time Dr. Beazell was the founder of Orthopedic Manual Therapy Seminars (OMTS) which provides physical therapists with long-term continuing education opportunities. He also was the lead developer of the first credentialed orthopaedic physical therapy residency program in Virginia in 2008. Dr. Beazell felt a strong responsibility to educate and mentor others. In addition to these endeavors, Dr. Beazell also collaborated on a variety of research projects with roles ranging from consultant to primary investigator. He collaborated with individuals from a variety of disciplines including orthopedics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, radiology, and sports medicine. Dr. Beazell was a reviewer for a variety of journals and at the time of his death he had authored or co-authored over 15 publications, multiple book chapters, and numerous abstracts for scientific meetings. He was a true ‘scholarly clinician.’ Outside of work Dr. Beazell was an avid cyclist and member of a variety of cycling clubs in Charlottesville. He would typically commute to and from work on his bike, regardless of the weather. Saturdays were typically spent riding with his family and friends. Through his illness he continued to ride on the road or at home. I had the pleasure of collaborating with Jim since 2004 when I started working on my PhD at the University of Virginia. In addition to being a professional mentor Jim was a good friend. He really cared about others. Jim also had a great sense of humor and always seemed to have a number of funny stories to tell. He also never met a stranger and was quick to introduce me to other professionals, even if he had not met them previously. He seemed to be able to talk with anyone and my professional network is vastly larger as a result of spending time with Jim at professional meetings. I also admired that Jim had a great relationship with Lee, his wife of 23 years, and his two children, Stewart and Ross. I have always admired people who have a good balance with their family and profession. I hope to be able to emulate some of these characteristics. Family oriented, friend, mentor, teacher, scholarly clinician, that is how I would describe Jim. It was a pleasure for our families to get to know each other. We will miss Jim, but greatly appreciate the time we were able to know him.