Dr. Kenrad E. Nelson died at age 89 April 21, 2022. Dr. Nelson was a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and International Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University for over 30 years until his career was interrupted by a major stroke he suffered in 2018 while on a plane, returning from a speaking engagement in Thailand.

Dr. Nelson was born in Harvey, Illinois, just south of Chicago. He was the only child of Rachel Cunningham and J. Edwin ("Ed") Nelson, an immigrant from Sweden, who worked in factories and was a minor league baseball player. Ed was also a leader and mentor to Kenrad and 8 of his buddies who called themselves the Comets into middle-age and remained close throughout life. Ed took on extra work driving taxis nights to pay for Kenrad's attendance at Northwestern Medical School, and died while driving a taxi a year before Kenrad graduated. Kenrad's mother came from a family with deep American roots in Appalachia, but limited means.

Kenrad attended DePauw University, and then went on to Northwestern Medical School and Internship and Internal Medicine residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. During his training years he took extra jobs to help pay for his tuition: including performing medical exams for insurance companies, acting as medic at the Cook County Jail, and doing home deliveries through the Chicago Maternity Center. He also assisted a classmate who had a job as medic at Chicago Blackhawks hockey games, in return for a free seat at the games. He finished his training with a rich assortment of professional experiences and a lifelong passion for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago White Sox (complements of his father). During his first year of residency, Kenrad supervised Karen Barkas, a beginning intern, who went on to specialize in Pediatrics. They clicked as a team and after 3 years of dating, they married. They remained life partners for over 60 years.

Following Residency, Kenrad decided that his biggest interest was in infectious disease, and he spent 2 years as an EIS Officer in the Public Health Service out of the CDC. He was assigned to the King County (Washington) Health Department, and had adventures involving bats, irrigation ditches, college cafeterias, and a Native American multi-tribe powwow. Kenrad subsequently returned to work at the University of Illinois School of Medicine. From there he seized an opportunity to spend a year – later expanded to two years - as a consultant at the new Chiang Mai University Medical Center, where he found his real calling, learning about new diseases, working with local medical faculty and working in the field collecting information about diseases in Thailand, and how to study and control them.

Karen and Kenrad travelled half-way around the world to Thailand with the four children they had by then acquired; and then returned with five. The Thai experience brought permanent enrichment to the family along with valuable improvisational skills. It also brought Ken skill at working productively with other customs and cultures, and the first of many sets of international professional relationships, which have grown throughout his many experiences working in International Health. He also developed a mastery of managing the bureaucratic and political complexities required for multinational scientific projects.  These skills remained an important part of his professional success for the remainder of his career.

Kenrad built on this beginning during his 30+ year career at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has been an academic advisor and mentor to 31 graduate students, from many different countries. He has done research in Thailand, China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and The Republic of Georgia. He has written 481 published scientific papers, was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and is the editor of a widely used textbook on Infectious Disease Epidemiology. He received an honorary Doctor of Public Health degree bestowed by the King of Thailand, and is an Adjunct Guest Professor at Xiamon University in Xiamon, China. He is a past-president of The American Epidemiologic Society, and has been awarded a medal from the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation as an "effective spokesperson for the power of international collaboration".

Ken embraced all kinds of different lifestyles. Ken never met a man or meal he didn't like. Experiencing first-hand the food, drink, customs, religious rituals, history, politics, and geography, that made countries unique was one of the biggest joys of his life.  He sought out new experiences at every opportunity and always returned from his trips full of pictures, stories, and trinkets which he enthusiastically shared with friends and family – usually after a hibernation like sleep that lasted 15-20 hours.

From his youth on, Kenrad has been a champion of fairness and equal rights for all. He was an active civil rights advocate, having marched with Martin Luther King, among others, and been a leading member of the Oak Park (Illinois) Citizen's Committee for Human Rights, and an advocate for gay men during the early years of HIV/Aids. Ken was a consistent advocate for gun control. His international work frequently focused on diseases affecting poor people in poor countries and he was always passionate about improving health and life circumstances of under resourced people.

Everyone who knew Kenrad experienced his big personality. He was unabashed liberal.  He also fully embraced intellectualism. Ken was always on top of the important ideas that were discussed by leading historians, scientists, and economists of the day.  The coffee table was always stacked with the latest books from current scholars.

He was a deeply emotional person.  He found beauty all around him – in his family, in new ideas he just encountered, and in experiences. Discussions of children, food, music, and even remarkable sports plays would often bring him to tears.  On the other hand, he was intolerant, and frequently non-observant, of rules and regulations he didn't think made sense or were needed. His primary intolerance was for anyone or anything which stood in the way of his research, but other things like passwords or Republicans could also draw his ire.

During the last 4 post-stroke years of his life, Kenrad was frustrated by his almost complete lack of speech, but he enjoyed his power-wheelchair, followed the COVID pandemic avidly, maintained strong political positions, and seldom missed broadcasts of a White Sox or Black Hawks game on TV.

Dr. Nelson is survived by his wife, five children and their spouses, 10 grandchildren and several almost-family members. He will be missed by the strong family he leaves behind him and a legion of friends, colleagues, and students around the world. A Memorial Service will be held at Brown Memorial Park Avenue Church on June 4, 2022 at 1:00 PM (EST).  Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to Doctors Without Borders ( https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org ).