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The late Burton F. Willis, M.D., FAAP.

Dr. Willis, former AAP board member, District IX chair, dies at 85

January 4, 2024

Former AAP Board Member and District IX Chairperson Burton F. Willis, M.D., FAAP, of Huntington Beach, Calif., died Nov. 22, 2023, at age 85.

Dr. Willis was born in Chicago and earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1963. He completed his pediatric training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and served as a Navy pediatrician in Long Beach, Calif., from 1967-’69.

After completing his military service, he joined the Edinger Medical Group in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, where he practiced until retiring in 2019. He was past chair and a board member of Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

In the late-1980s, he joined a group a pediatricians who helped found AAP California Chapter 4 for Orange County, where he served as vice president and president. In 1994, as co-chair of the District IX Managed Care Task Force, he brought public attention to the important role played by pediatricians in providing quality medical care to California children.

He was a member of the Committee on Development and was elected to the AAP Board of Directors in October 2000. In an AAP News article published that year, he said a key goal of his was to provide adequate health insurance and access to care for every child in America.

“We need a system that affords both coverage and benefits to all kids, as well as adequate reimbursement to the pediatricians who provide these services,” Dr. Willis said.

He also was a founding member of the AAP Media Resource Team, which informed the media on pediatric issues. He also served on the AAP Executive Director Search Committee following the retirement of James Strain, M.D., FAAP, in 1993.

In addition to serving 20 years as a clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Willis was an editor of the California Pediatrician. He held memberships in many community organizations, including Exchange Club of Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach Art Center, Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Huntington Valley and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.

Dr. Willis is survived by his wife of 62 years Doris, his son, Bruce, his daughter, Stacy, and his grandchildren, Nathaniel and Ricky.

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