Dr. Bill Takeshita – Forever in Our Hearts

The world of Pediatric Low Vision lost a pioneer, advocate, mentor, teacher and beloved friend and colleague, Dr. Bill Takeshita on Friday, March 3, 2023. Dr. Bill's commitment and passion for helping children and teens with low vision is unparalleled. Families and professionals sought Dr. Bill's expertise and wisdom that he shared along with his compassion and message of hope, inspiring us all to help children learn to use their remaining sight and learn to adapt to permanent vision loss. He was a hero to all of us and his legacy lives on with every life he touched so profoundly. Dr. Bill’s ability to educate and support families in a compassionate way has made a life-long positive impact on the lives of countless children and families. What happened when families met Dr. Bill is nothing short of amazing and inspiring. Dr. Bill liked to tell the story of when he met the founder of the Center for the Partially Sighted, Dr. Sam Genesky, and observed firsthand his passion for and ability to improve the lives of people with low vision. His career path changed from medical school to low vision optometry, and he never looked back. When Dr. Bill was offered the opportunity to develop the Pediatric Program at the Center, he jumped at the chance. In a very short period of time, Dr. Bill had a dramatic influence on the field of early intervention for children with visual impairment and those with multiple disabilities. He taught us about the value of encouraging vision at the earliest stages of life alongside overall developmental milestones. His expertise in vision as a learned and developed skill challenged us to develop new screenings, assessments and materials so that everyone working with a child and family understood the important role that vision, and visual impairment play in a child’s progress. Dr. Bill has done more than any other eye care professional in advancing education about pediatric low vision. He has spoken to therapists, teachers, doctors, regional centers, school districts, and many others. His positive message about what can be done to help children with vision loss has influenced hundreds of professionals and thousands of families. He was a sought-after lecturer on all things related to pediatric visual impairment. Dr. Bill’s honest and open observations about his own experience with vision loss and blindness endeared him to his patients, families, professionals, peers and everyone who met or saw him. His sense of humor and positive message lent insight and perspective in a touching and poignant way. Those of us that had the privilege to work with Dr. Bill for so many years recognize it was the opportunity of a lifetime. His legacy is alive through the enormous number of children and families he treated, counseled and inspired and his lasting influence on the field of pediatric vision. We created this tribute page for Dr. Bill where you can share your tributes and stories. You can also submit any pictures/videos you'd like to share to the tribute page by emailing us at partnersforpediatricvision@gmail.com. Best,