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NEWS FROM THE COOK ISLANDS / Provided
Dr. Joe Williams and his wife Jill, who was by his side at the hospital.
The grieving whanau of the former Cook Islands prime minister, who died of coronavirus in Auckland, still does not know how he contracted the disease.
Dr. Joseph Williams QSO, 85, died in hospital on Friday after testing positive for Covid-19.
The father of four and grandfather of six was also an esteemed physician and ran a medical practice on Mt Wellington, near the Americold factory, where several people linked to the Auckland group worked.
His nephew, Dr. Kiki Maoate ONZM, said that no other Williams clinic staff or patients had tested positive for the disease.
READ MORE:
* Coronavirus: Covid claims the life of former Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Joe Williams, hours after the death of his brother
* Dr. Joseph Williams – a man of manna and humility
* Coronavirus: second recent death shaking New Zealanders from Covid fatigue
Williams was admitted to Auckland City Hospital on August 13.
Amy McGillivray / Stuff
Dr. Joseph Williams was named a companion of the Queen’s Service Order on the 2011 New Years honors list.
His death, which came just a day after the death of his older brother in Brisbane, was “a bit shocking.”
Maoate said his uncle had been fine until the end of last week, when his condition deteriorated.
Williams’s wife, Jill, was with him when he died, but his children were unable to visit him because they were in quarantine.
Memorial services would be held in cities in New Zealand as well as the Cook Islands.
Williams was born in Aitutaki and studied medicine at the universities of Otago and Hawai’i. He worked as a physician in the Cook Islands from 1964, before entering Parliament in 1968 as a deputy for the Cook Islands Party.
He served as a member of the executive board of the World Health Organization from 1995 to 1997, then as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from July to November 1999.
His practice, Mt Wellington Integrated Family Healthcare Clinic, saw more than 15,000 patients, who would travel from across the country to see him. He had been working until he got sick.
Maoate described his uncle as a kind man who was attractive and funny.
People were drawn to him, he said.
Williams had continued to practice medicine two decades after reaching retirement age because he felt he needed to help people.
“He loved doing it,” Maoate said.
Maoate Family / Supplied
Brogan Maoate, Williams’ granddaughter, and her father Kiki Maoate at their graduation from the University of Otago School of Medicine.
At least three generations of the Williams family had pursued careers in medicine. Maoate and her daughter are doctors, just like her father.
Maoate, who is the president of the Pasifika Medical Association, regarded his uncle as an inspiration for his own medical career: He was a “leader, mentor, wise advisor to many, passionate advocate and strategist,” he said.
“He was generous, kind, and led by example, living a life of service,” she said.
The family was distraught, but friends and the wider community were well supportive, Maoate said.
RNZ
The death of former Cook Islands prime minister and GP Joe Williams is a stark reminder for communities to be vigilant, says a Pacific GP.
Williams was the second person to die from Covid-19 after a second community outbreak of the disease was detected in August.
The disease claimed Alan Te Hiko’s life at Middlemore Hospital hours before Williams’ death.
Te Hiko, in his 50s, was the youngest New Zealander to die after contracting Covid-19.
