William Bechill
A Social work and Aging Policy Pioneer
For more than 50 years, William (Bill) Bechill made remarkable contributions to older
Americans, to aging policy and to social work. He received his master’s degree in Social Work
from the University of Maryland School of Social work in 1991. After 1991, he continued to
volunteer his time giving guest lectures and contributing to aging policy until he died in 2007.
Bill is probably best known for his efforts as a contributing author and the first administrator of
the Older Americans Act. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first
Commissioner on Aging in 1965. His charge was to establish the Administration on Aging and
relevant state and local entities to accomplish the provisions of the Act. Prior to the 1961 White
House Conference on Aging which led to this act, there was a relatively little general public
focus on the needs of older Americans. His efforts raised awareness among policymakers about
issues facing older Americans, and led to a greater investment of federal, state, and local
resources to address those issues.
Mr. Bechill did not start, nor end, his career with the Administration on Aging. Prior to that
appointment, he had governor’s appointments in Michigan and California. His last governor’s
appointment was as chair of the Maryland commission on Aging where he developed the
Commission as a strong advocacy voice for older Marylanders. He was a county social welfare
director in Michigan, executive secretary of California’s Citizens Advisory Committee and then
Chief of the division of medical care in the California Department of Social Welfare.
In 1969, when his federal appointment ended, Bill moved to the University of Maryland School
of Social Work, where he energized and inspired young minds to engage with issues related to
older Americans. His teaching and research efforts included national and state policy on
maintenance, aging among people of color, international aging issues, long term care, senior
centers, and the Older Americans Act. Professor Bechill chaired the National Center on Global
Aging at The Catholic University of America which was founded by Dr. Daniel Thursz.
Another of his major efforts was inspiring people to advocacy. He felt that awareness and
education should be used not only in culturally competent practice, but also to inform policy
change. As a strong advocate of Social Security and Medicare, for example, Bill teamed up with
such other pioneers as Arthur Fleming to prevent any attempts to move those social insurance
programs into the private sector. Their organization was called S.O.S. for Save our Security. A
major activity as Chair of the Maryland Commission on Aging was to energize local
Commissions to advocate with their local and state legislators on behalf of the needs in their
communities. With calm serenity, Bill made his points and moved his agenda.
The hand of William Bechill continues to be felt throughout the county, at local, county, state,
national and international levels.