Obituary for
William Gary Flamm
On November 10, 2017 beloved husband and father, Dr. William Gary Flamm, passed away at the age of 81. He is preceded in death by his mother, Elda Margaret Flamm; father, William Flamm; and sister Elda Jean Drake. He is survived by his wife, Joan Ann Flamm, son, Edwin Gary Flamm, and brothers, Donald Flamm and Barry Flamm. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio December 7, 1935.
Dr. Flamm worked for the federal government: the National Institute of Health(NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) for 25 years and retired in 1988. After retiring, Dr. Flamm started his own consulting firm, Flamm Associates, dealing with food safety related issues. He held degrees in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Dr. Flamm received his PhD in Biochemistry from the Medical School of the University of Cincinnati in 1962. He was a fellow of the American College of Toxicology and the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.
Dr. Flamm held several high level positions at the FDA including Chief Science Advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA. He was also the director for what was known at the time as the Office of Toxicological Sciences of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. He was a recognized international authority in risk/safety evaluation of carcinogens and other toxic agents and had been called upon many times to testify before the U.S. Congress on the safety of substances in the food supply. He was at one time the President of both the American College of Toxicology and the International Society for Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. Dr. Flamm served on the council and held offices in the Society for Risk Analysis and the Environmental Mutagen Society. He served on several editorial boards addressing toxicological and risk assessment subjects. He published over 120 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and books. He held academic appointments in several major universities including the California Institute of Technology, the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the University of North Carolina.
One of Dr. Flamm’s accomplishments was to establish a better understanding between government and industry in the areas of safety evaluation. For that, he received the George H. Scott Award from the Toxicology Forum. Dr. Flamm also received the Superior Service Award from the Public Health Service, and the Recognition Award from the Environmental Mutagen Society.
These are many, but not all of his work related accomplishments. However, what is most important to his wife and son is that he was a fantastic husband and father. At his request , there will be no funeral service,
