Joan C. Gill remembered as advocate for her patients with bleeding disorders

Joan Cox Gill was a doctor for children with hemophilia, a researcher of bleeding disorders who shed an early light on AIDS, a passionate advocate for her patients, lover of the arts and a master of crossword puzzles.

Gill died May 9 after a yearlong battle with cancer. She was 74.

Gill and her research team from the Medical College of Wisconsin were the first to identify immune abnormalities in hemophilia patients in the early 1980s that subsequently were recognized as AIDS, the immune deficiency disease caused by infection with HIV.

She led the clinical work on the first grant funded by the National Institutes of Health on AIDS in hemophilia, according to the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society.

She was named one of the best doctors in America by her peers in pediatric hematology every year since 1996 and gained the recognition again this year, said her daughter, Gretchen Gill.

"She started medical school when I was in first grade," her daughter said. She was a single parent as she raised her daughter and worked to get through medical school. Gill graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1976.

"She paved the way for other women to follow," her daughter said. As a respected physician and researcher, she still found time to mentor other young female medical students and faculty.

"By 1978, she was deeply committed to a fellowship in pediatric hematology and began a lifelong love affair with the science and clinical management of bleeding and clotting disorders," said Lorilyn Jacobsen-Tews, executive director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society.

"A favorite with young patients and their families, Joan's professional demeanor was soft-spoken and kind," Jacobsen-Tews said in a memorial tribute to Gill, one of the founders of the society in 1989.

In addition to hemophilia research, "her work was equally important in the diagnosis and treatment of von Willebrand Disease," Jacobsen-Tews said. That disease is a bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency of a protein that helps blood to clot.

Hemophilia is a lifelong disorder and Gill had patients who were with her over the course of a career spanning more than 30 years, her daughter said.

"She educated her patients about how to treat their disorders and that empowered the patients and their families," her daughter said.

The Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society has named an annual award for outstanding service in her honor.

In 2014, the Great Lakes Hemophilia Foundation put her name on the children's health lodge at its Camp Klotty Pine in Wautoma.

St. Norbert College awarded her the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in Natural Sciences in 2017. Gill graduated from the college in 1965.

At the time of her 2013 announcement that she would begin the gradual process of retirement, Gill was a professor of pediatrics, medicine and epidemiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, medical director of the Hemophilia and Bleeding Disorders Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, and an investigator and medical director of the Comprehensive Center for Bleeding Disorders at the BloodCenter of Wisconsin. She published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, editorials and research abstracts.

Mother and daughter had a shared interest in the arts. "She supported my earlier performing career," said Gretchen Gill, who sang with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra chorus and performed at Renaissance Faires before returning to school for her own doctoral degree.

And mother and daughter were founding board members of RESCU (Renaissance Entertainers Services and Crafters United) Foundation.

"She was just ridiculous in putting puzzles together and she was the master of crossword puzzles," her daughter said.

Gill also enjoyed gardening at her home in Greendale.

In addition to her daughter, Gill is survived by two sisters and three brothers, ex-husband Gordon Gill of Sarasota, Fla., and nieces and nephews.

A celebration of her life will be held May 20 at Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners beginning with a 1 p.m. social gathering. A memorial service follows at 2:30 p.m.