Wil Borchers Nelp

Wil Borchers Nelp, MD, died peacefully on Saturday, March 14, 2020, age 90. He was raised in Franklin, Indiana by parents Olive and Wil Nelp with his sister Doree. He graduated from Franklin College and earned his MD at Johns Hopkins University.  After post graduate work in internal medicine and radiology, he served as Captain and Acting Chief at Moffett Air Force Base.   In 1962, he brought his family to Seattle to create and head the Division of Nuclear Medicine at the UW Hospital where he served for over 30 years. He became known nationally and internationally for his pioneering work in nuclear medicine. He constantly challenged himself and colleagues to search for new ways to use nuclear medicine to best serve patients. In addition to medicine, he was a skier, woodworker, biker, sailor (sailboat aptly named Freewil), traveler, runner with a good dose of goofball thrown in. He loved telling jokes, stories and even breaking into song at family dinners.  He is survived by his wife Barbi Monroe Nelp and her two daughters Kristin Rosellini (Ed Bittner) and Emily Robinson and 4 grandchildren - Isabella and Ava Ione  Bittner and William and Kate Toni, and by his four children Nancy Steers (Doug), Todd Nelp (Mary), Paige Grening (Brent), Blaine Shepherd and 7 grandsons - Andrew and Hunter Steers, Taylor and Wil Nelp, Miller Grening and Ryan and Mitchell Shepherd.