C. Everett Koop, ex-surgeon general, dies in NH

[Tx4obama]

Source: AP

C. Everett Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, has died in New Hampshire at age 96.

An assistant at Koop's Dartmouth institute, Susan Wills, said he died Monday in Hanover, where he had a home. She didn't disclose his cause of death.

Koop wielded the previously low-profile post of surgeon general as a bully pulpit for seven years during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

An evangelical Christian, he shocked his conservative supporters when he endorsed condoms and sex education to stop the spread of AIDS.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBIT_KOOP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-02-25-16-58-30

[graham4anything]

1. rest in peace Dr. Koop, one of the first to advocate for Wellness

Dr. Koop would be for a nationwide ban on 48 ounce sodas, and all cigarettes.


As he lived to 96, Dr. Koop obviously practiced what he preached.

[freshwest]

25. Yes, he did exactly that. A good man.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. He was a good man, and a good doctor...

May he rest in peace. My condolences to his family and to all who loved him.

[Skittles]

3. regarding AIDS, Dr. Koop put health above politics and religion

amazing considering he was a evangelical Christian

[hrmjustin]

4. May he rest in peace.

[TwilightGardener]

5. A good long life and a good legacy--not bad.

[earthside]

6. Made extra famous by the Be Sharps.

"For all the latest medical poop,
Call Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.
Poo poo pa-doop."



RIP

[StrongBad]

8. That song was worse than their song about Mr. T.

[earthside]

10. Yup.

Their run was just about over when they did the Koop song.

[ballaratocker]

23. I pity the fool who doesn't like....

he.

[earthside]

27. Here it is: Be Sharp's Tribute to Koop

[handmade34]

7. I used to see him often

at Mary-Hitchcock Hospital when my late husband was there... he was always pleasant...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

9. He was a champion of something called prolotherapy

He wrote an intro to a book on the technique where he described being skeptical about it until it actually worked for him to remove his pain. Prolotherapy is a controversial technique whereby a doctor injects salt water or other fluids into arthritic joints to promote scar tissue that stabilizes it and allegedly reduces pain. Some doctors promote it as a substitute for invasive surgery.

[denverbill]

11. I think I'll remember him best for DrKoop.com. One of the biggest internet busts of all time.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/technology/1003/gallery.dot_com_busts/8.html

I don't blame him for that though.

All in all, he seemed like a pretty good sort.

[Ezlivin]

12. If every politician could do this, we'd be way ahead

Dr. Koop knew very well that evangelical beliefs should not be implemented as public policy.

[Tempest]

13. A good man, a good public servant

R.I.P.

Best wishes to his family.

[Ken Burch]

14. One of the last Republicans to put common sense and decency before ideology.

If Koop had reacted to the AIDS crisis in the way most of his party wanted(finger-wagging sanctimony mixed with willful inaction)millions more might have died.

[AAO]

15. He was 20 years ahead of his time.

If he were SG today, there would be much more useful truth out there.

[alp227]

16. He endorsed Life Alert in recent years. RIP Dr. Koop.

Ever seen those "Help I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials with an endorsement spot from Dr. Koop?

[jsr]

17. R.I.P.

[Scairp]

18. Wow 96

And someone actually asked his cause of death? Hello, he was closing in on 100, maybe that was his cause of death? Good guy. Isn't he the one who put out those mailers about AIDS, really the first government attempt to try and bring awareness?

[RILib]

20. and married again at 94.

[RILib]

19. A good man

we have so few of them nowadays.

[BigDemVoter]

21. He actually wasn't bad. . . . .

Considering that he was Reagan's Surgeon General, one would have thought he would have been a disaster. . . . He stepped up to the plate regarding AIDS, and he was able to leave his conservative Christianity at the door when it came to medical issues.

[Auggie]

22. Every time I think of Koop I think of Rodney Dangerfield ...

"Yesterday I met the Surgeon General. He gave me a cigarette."

No disrespect meant to Dr. Koop.

[Historic NY]

24. Godspeed Dr. Koop long life....

and you took care of people.

[uppityperson]

26. I liked and appreciated Koop. RIP Dr Koop and thank you.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

28. Met him back in the late 90s

He was a good friend of my sociology professor and came to my university a lot. - nice guy and very humble.

[tilsammans]

29. His anti-smoking work rocked the world

Remember when people smoked anywhere and everywhere? That might still have been the case if not for Koop's publicizing the public health menace that is secondhand smoke.

He put the greater good above his personal beliefs, much to the consternation of the conservatives.

Thank you, Dr. Koop.

[Hekate]

30. Rest in peace, Dr. Koop, and thank you for your service

Dr. Koop was one of the good guys.

[msanthrope]

31. Rest in Peace, Patriot. nt

[blkmusclmachine]

32. C.E.K., about the only decent thing out of the dark 80s Reagan/Bush Era

[duffyduff]

33. Best SG we ever had

He was what could be called non-partisan.

That is sadly lacking in today's political atmosphere.