William R Hendee PhD

Dr. William R. (Bill) Hendee passed quietly in the presence of his loving family on March 14, 2026.

Bill grew up in rural Mississippi and attended Tulane University on a football scholarship. From 1956 to 1963 he served in the US Marine Corps Reserve. He pursued graduate studies in physics at Vanderbilt University on an Atomic Energy Commission scholarship and at the University of Texas on a Gilbert X-Ray fellowship under the mentorship of Jack S. Krohmer, PhD. After 3 years of teaching physics as Associate Professor and Chair at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, he served on the faculty of the University of Colorado for 20 years. There he constructed graduate and postdoctoral programs, and for 10 years he occupied the position of Professor and Chair of Radiology and Radiation Oncology. For 3 years he was director of the radiology residency program. Several of his medical physics program graduates went on to become Coolidge Awardees and Presidents of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

In 1985, Bill was appointed Vice Chair and Executive Secretary of the Council of Scientific Affairs for the American Medical Association in Chicago. In 1991, he joined the Medical College of Wisconsin where he served as Dean of The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Senior Associate Dean for Research, President of the MCW Research Foundation, and Vice Chair of Radiology. His faculty appointments were in Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Biophysics and Bioethics. He also held appointments at Marquette University and the University of New Mexico.

At the time of Bill’s passing, he was Distinguished Professor of Radiology Emeritus at both the University of Colorado and the Medical College of Wisconsin. He authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and 24 books, including multiple editions of Hendee’s Medical Imaging Physics and Hendee’s Radiation Therapy Physics. From 1985 to 2014 he served as editor of the scientific journal Medical Physics.

Bill was elected president of several organizations, including the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Society of Nuclear Medicine, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, American Board of Radiology, and the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs. He received many prestigious awards throughout his career, including the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (Coolidge Award), American Roentgen Ray Society (Gold Medal), Radiological Society of North America (Gold Medal), International Organization of Medical Physics (Harald Johns Medal), Health Physics Society (Elda Anderson Award), International Society for Optical Engineering (Founders Award), Medical College of Wisconsin (Distinguished Service Award), Millsaps College (Honorary Doctorate), University of Patras (Honorary Doctorate), and many more.

In addition to his rich career, Bill lived an equally rewarding and diverse personal life. In 1975, he moved his family to a 10-acre farm north of Denver, where he built barns, milked cows, raised livestock, grew a large vegetable garden, hunted and fished, all while continuing his work at the University of Colorado.

Throughout his life, along with his wife Jeannie, Bill developed his love of theater, opera, ballet, art, and travel. During his retirement, Bill and Jeannie bought a small lake home in central Wisconsin, where he enjoyed a quiet fisherman’s life close to nature. He entertained his young grandchildren there, and taught them how to fish, grow vegetables, swim, canoe, and enjoy the peace of nature and wildlife. He took up painting and pottery and deepened his appreciation for the arts, and he was an avid reader until his last days. Bill is most remembered by people who knew him as inspiring, passionate about learning, kind-hearted, charming, devoted to his family, and a friend you could count on.

Bill was preceded in death by his lovely wife Jeannie. Their marriage of 63 years produced 7 children: Mikal (Jarlath), Shonn (Suzi), Eric (Michelle), Gareth (David), Gregory (Karen), Gwen (Vaz) and Karel (Jonathan), 7 grandchildren (Sarah, Stacia, Wesley, Bijou, Jenna, Tyler, and Kyle), and 1 great-grandchild (Benjamin).

When asked about the secret of such a long marriage, Bill invariably responded “mutual love and respect.”