William Nelligan

NELLIGAN William David Nelligan III "Bill" Passed away peacefully on July 23, 2019. He was 92 years old. Born in Halstead, KS on August 10, 1926, he was the son of the late William David II and Katharine [Roberts] Nelligan. He lived in Halstead until the fall of 1944 when he began schooling at Wichita University in Wichita, KS. In the fall of 1946 and until his graduation in the spring of 1949, he resided in Lawrence, KS and attended the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism. After graduation, he was on the advertising staff of the Kansas City Star in Kansas City, MO. In 1951 he accepted a position in Garden City KS as Manager of the University of Kansas Southwest Kansas Extension Center. He held that position until January 1955. He and Dorothy Nelle Meyer married in Garden City in 1952. The family moved to Prairie Village, KS in 1955 at which time he took a position at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City, KS as Executive Director of the School's Department of Postgraduate Medical Education. In 1964 he and his family, by then his wife and three sons, moved to Augusta, GA where he served for one year as Assistant to the President, Medical College of Georgia and Director of the Postgraduate Medical Education Department. Mr. Nelligan's long and distinguished career in the field of association management began in 1965 when the officers of the American College of Cardiology asked him to assume the position of Executive Director [eventually Executive Vice President] of the then 2,200 member American College of Cardiology with offices in Bethesda, MD. By the time he retired in 1992, the membership of the College exceeded 25,000 members world-wide. Mr. Nelligan and his wife traveled extensively throughout the world during his tenure with the American College of Cardiology, visiting six continents and including trips to China and the Soviet Union in the 1970's. For two years, 1992 - 1994, Mr. Nelligan was employed in Kansas City, MO by the Marion Merrell Dow pharmaceutical company as Vice President for Professional Education and Scientific Communications. He intended to fully retire in June 1994, then accepted the position of Executive Director of the new American Society of Nuclear Cardiology with offices in Bethesda, MD. He served in that position from 1994 to 2001 and in 2001 he agreed to serve the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology as it's Executive Director with offices in Damascus, MD. In 2005 he sought less work-related duties and served as Executive Director of the Society of Cardiac Computed Tomography, again in Damascus, MD. Since mid-2007 he has been fully retired and he and his wife lived at the Village of Rockville, MD where he accepted several voluntary duties. In the period after his 1992 retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Nelligan continued to travel extensively throughout the world. His appointments and elections during his career include serving as a Member of the National Commission on Diabetes [NIH], Member of the National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council [NIH], Member of the Prevention, Education, and Control Advisory Committee of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [NIH], Member of the Committee on Research Policy of the American Diabetes Association, Member of the US Information Agency's Private Sector Medical Science Advisory Committee, Member of the National Advisory Council of Mended Hearts, Member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the National Library of Medicine, President of the American Association of Medical Society Executives, National Treasurer of the American Medical Writers Association, Secretary-Treasurer and Vice Chairman of the American Society of Association Executives, Honorary Member of the British Cardiac Society, Honorary Member of the Canadian Nuclear Cardiology Society, Life Member of the Board of Directors of the Arthur E. Hertzler Research Foundation, President of the Professional Convention Management Association and Charter Member of the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education. His honors include "Man with a Heart" Award from the New York Cardiological Society, Presidential Citation from the American College of Cardiology, Harold Swanberg Distinguished Service Award from the American Medical Writers Assn., Key Award for Chief Staff Executives from the American Society of Association Executives, Distinguished Service Award from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Medical Writers Association, Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Cardiology, Hall of Leaders Honoree from the Convention Liaison Council, Distinguished Service Award from the Professional Convention Management Association, Association Executive of Year [1992] from the Association Trends News Magazine, Citation of a Layman for Distinguished Service from the American Medical Association and 20-year Certificate of Appreciation from the Society of Directors of Continuing Medical Education. At the time of his retirement in 1992, he was the only non-medical doctor to be honored with a Fellowship in the American College of Cardiology. Mr. Nelligan is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Dorothy Nelle [Meyer] Nelligan, sons, Richard Nelligan of Grovetown, GA, Arthur Nelligan and his wife Sharon, of New Windsor, MD and Mark Nelligan and his wife Kathy, of Laytonsville, MD; grandchildren, Katie Nelligan of New Windsor, MD, Austin Nelligan and his wife, Megan, of New Windsor, MD, Patrick Nelligan and his wife, Tera of Grovetown, GA, Jackie Nelligan of Bethesda, MD, Alexandra Nelligan of Bethesda, MD and Isabel Nelligan of Laytonsville, MD; two great-grandchildren, Liam Nelligan of New Market, MD and Ava Nelligan of Grovetown, GA; his nephew, Jon Lasiter and his wife, Gina, of Stockton, CA; his nieces, Kathy Dunback and her husband, Steve of Belleville, KS, Patsy Meyer-Williams of Salina, KS, Emily Grimes and her husband, Rodger of Mansfield, TX, and Melanie Hubbard of Ft Worth, TX and a host of other relatives and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his younger sister, Katy Nelligan Lasiter and his granddaughter, Rachel Nelligan. Mr. Nelligan was a member of the Halstead, Ks. Masonic Lodge for nearly 70 years. He was a member of the Damascus United Methodist Church in Damascus, MD. A Memorial Service will be held August 30, 2019 at the Damascus United Methodist Church, 9700 New Church Street, Damascus MD, 20872 at 11 a.m. The Rev. Walt Edmonds will officiate. Mr. Nelligan's body has been cremated and his ashes will be buried by the family in a private ceremony. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, any donations in his honor be made to the Damascus United Methodist Church at the address listed above or to the Dayspring Church, 11301 Neelsville Church Road, Germantown, MD 20876.