Just out., July 07, 2006, Page 7, Image 7

northwest
Celebrating Bill Hancock
Public health activist dies
by Jaymee R. Cuti
ortland public health activist Bill
Hancock succumbed to brain cancer June
29, surviving a decade longer than he
ever expected, and packing his life full of
public service contributions.
Hancock, 51, died peacefully in his sleep and
was surrounded by his friends and family. He had
been undergoing radiation treatment for brain
cancer when he contracted an infection last
month, and died within days.
Hancock was born May 27, 1955, in West
Bloomfield, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. He was the
youngest of six children in a self-described “big, loud
Irish Catholic family.” He relocated to Portland in
1980 after attending Michigan State University.
Hancock’s life tells the story of an incredible
recovery from illness due to AIDS in the ’90s, and the
life he filled advocating for those without health care.
“He was ready for death more than 10 years ago,
and he escaped it and had this whole life I don’t
think he anticipated at the time, which he greatly
celebrated,” said Kathryn Siebert, Our House of
Portland director of volunteers.
In 1996, Hancock considered undergoing a
doctor’s assisted suicide to spare his loved ones’
prolonged grief.
“Prognosis-wise, I would say 12 months or less
for myself—whichever way you go, the outcome is
the same, you know, that I’m going to die,” said
Hancock in an interview for Oregon Public
Broadcasting on April 8, 1996. “You see these
people who have no physical or mental abilities and
are laying in a bed, you know, racked with pain.
And 1 had big fears about that for myself. I don’t
want to be that way—and I’m not going to put my
parents through it, either. I’m not going to leave
them in a position of having to make some kind of
decision as to when they’re going to pull the plug.
I’m not going to do that to them."
But Hancock recovered and managed a busy life
full of laughter, love and professional accomplish­
ment, according to those who knew him well.
"He had a great sense of humor and a wonder­
ful laugh,” said Becky Hamond, associate executive
director of Cascade AIDS Project. “He was very full
of life.”
Hancock moved into Our House on Dec. 5,
1995, where he met his partner, William Reed. “He
came in here expecting to die, as did his partner,”
said Siebert.
At that time, HIV/AIDS medication was mak­
ing rapid advancements, and saved the lives of
Hancock and Reed, also an Our House resident.
“They met, they fell in love, they moved out,
married and had a long, continuing life together,”
Siebert remembered. “They both came back about
a year later and became active volunteers.”
Hancock, Reed and a third resident were the
first residents to leave Our House alive and
recovered June 22, 1996. Siebert called this a
turning point in treatment for the disease.
“It felt like a great turn in the evolution of the
disease for us back then. It was something, for us,
worth celebrating,” she said.
Hancock and Reed married in 2004 in
Multnomah County shortly before Reed’s death.
Hancock’s experience in the public health are­
na ignited a passion for health care advocacy,
which continued throughout his life. He was poli­
cy coordinator for Cascade AIDS Project, repre­
senting the agency on a statewide committee,
developing CAP’s public policy priority list and
sometimes traveling to Salem and Washington,
D.C., to lobby legislators about issues concerning
public health. Last month he marched in the
Portland Pride Parade with CAP. He served on the
HIV Planning Council and Tri-County Safety Net
Enterprises board. He completed his third term June
12 as chairman of the Multnomah County
Community Health Council and was a member of
the county’s Citizen Budget Advisory Committee.
He was the executive director of Portland Saturday
Market from 1980 to 1991, a time when the orga­
nization’s annual budget swelled from $25,000 to
$1.2 million. He also met annually with Pacific
University graduate students of occupational ther­
apy to help them become better therapists.
“He was an advocate for access to health care
and patients’ rights. He was an active consumer
voice, and that was really a gift for the Multnomah
County Health Department,” said Sonia Manhas,
manager of the county’s Chronic Disease
Prevention program. “He dedicated an incredible
amount of time to make the health department a
better organization.” •
A celebration of BILL H ancock ’ s life is planned in
place of a funeral from noon to 2 p.m. July 22 at
Darcelle XV Showplace, 208 N.W. Third Ave.,
where Hancock performed many years ago. In lieu of
flowers, remembrances may be made to Cascade
AIDS Project or Our House of Portland.
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