William “Bill” Schumann, CPO, FAAOP, passed away on June 23. He was 80 years old. Schumann retired in 2021 after 50 years in the O&P profession.
Schumann graduated in 1968 from one of the early associate degree programs in prosthetics developed through Northwestern University Prosthetic-Orthotic Center and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He completed a residency with Dreher-Jouett Orthotics and Prosthetics, Illinois, and earned his prosthetics certification from the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics in 1970. Schumann extended his practitioner certification to include orthotics in 1975, and helped launch the Brace Shop at Children’s Hospital Boston, where he contributed to the development of the Boston brace for scoliosis.
Schumann served as president of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (the Academy) in 1998-99, and was honored with the Titus Ferguson Award for Excellence in 2004. In his final years as a practitioner, he discovered joy in working with the infants he fitted with plagiocephaly helmets.
The Academy paid tribute to Schumann on its website. “We remember Bill with gratitude for a life devoted to restoring movement, dignity, confidence, and possibility. To speak of Bill is to speak of a clinician, a craftsman, a teacher, a leader, and a colleague whose influence reached far beyond any single clinic, hospital, or city. He gave more than technical skill to the profession of orthotics and prosthetics; he gave it patience, curiosity, mentorship, and a deep respect for the people whose lives depended on thoughtful care.”
