Triangulating from the cairns…
Figure: Robert R. Odén, MDDr. Robert Odén passed away Sunday, May 18, 2008 at his home in Captiva Island, Florida. He succumbed peacefully, surrounded by his family after a long battle with a progressive peripheral neuropathy. Dr. Odén lived a full and productive life, beginning his early years in Chicago. He graduated from Senn Public High School in Chicago and then attended Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, before transferring to the University of Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1943 with a Bachelor's Degree in biology. Dr. Rudolph Odén, Bob's father, was an orthopaedic surgeon and Bob always wanted to follow in his footsteps. While in high school and college, he frequently would shadow his father in the office and the operating room, which gave him the incentive to pursue orthopaedics. After college he attended Northwestern University, where he obtained his medical degree. He served his internship at Augustana Hospital, followed by an orthopaedic residency at Northwestern University in Chicago, and a 1-year fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics at Shriner's Hospital in Chicago. He then practiced in Chicago, consulting frequently with his father, until he moved to Aspen, Colorado, in 1957. In Aspen he started Orthopaedic Associates and was the first orthopaedist on the Western Slope of Colorado. He started clinics in Aspen, Snowmass, Vail, Glenwood Springs, and Rifle. Bob was one of the early active members of Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons (ABJS), which was started in 1947. He and a few members of the ABJS did volunteer work in Jordan in the 1960s. From this experience, they helped start Orthopaedics Overseas which today teaches orthopaedics throughout the world. One of Bob's visions was to provide quality orthopaedic care for people with ski injuries. He initiated the U.S. Ski Team doctors' pool in 1968 and recruited orthopaedic surgeons to travel with the U.S. Ski Team to provide medical assistance. He was the Chief Orthopaedic Surgeon for the U.S. Ski Team from 1967 to 1980. Dr. Richard Steadman followed him in that position. Bob always promoted safety on the ski slope and was instrumental in requiring downhill racers to wear helmets, which is the standard for all racers today. Bob met his wife, Nancy, in 1964. She was “the newest blonde in town”, and Nancy said, “Fortunately, I was the one he settled on even though I came with three young children, a Saint Bernard, three cats, and several goldfish”. Bob and Nancy married and a year after their marriage, their daughter Beth was born. With the help of Beth, Nancy was able to care for Bob at home until he died. Bob had multiple accomplishments, and was elected in the Aspen Ski Hall of Fame, the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame, Colorado Ski Hall of Fame, and was the U.S. Ski Team Sports Medicine Doctor of the Year in 1995. He received the Halstead Award for outstanding services for skiers in the Rocky Mountain Region and the Blegan Award in 1985 for outstanding service to the U.S. Ski Team. One of Bob's proudest moments was when he was one of the few orthopaedic surgeons to be inducted into the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Hall of Fame in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2004. Bob had a zest for life that was unmistakable. Many people described him as “bigger than life”. He would frequently pick up his patients and give them a big bear hug. Outside orthopaedics he was involved in flying and helped start the Aspen Base Operations at Pitkin County Airport in Aspen. He also was involved in several business ventures, including starting the Pitkin County Bank in Aspen. Bob was a wonderful man who was very involved with his family. He showed his three step-children as much love as he did his own daughter, Beth. After retirement he spent summers in Aspen and winters in Captiva Island with Nancy. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Rudolph and Olga Odén, and his sister Constance Flenner. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and children, Lisbeth Odén, Louise Edwards, Beach Edwards (Katy), and Boyd Edwards. He also is survived by his grandchildren, Zackary Robert Odén, and Kaela and Aubrey Edwards; a nephew, William Bohman; a niece, Deborah Crawford, and many cousins. Bob was a true visionary and always had a new idea on how to improve an operation or a business venture. He truly will be missed by his family, friends, and patients.
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