Edith Toole Oberley

Madison -- Edith Toole Oberley, Kidney Patient Advocate, dies at 62. Edith began her career dedicated to advocacy for kidney patients in 1973. She wrote books to educate patients on kidney dialysis treatment and kidney transplantation. She was a long-time and award-winning Kidney Foundation volunteer, working at local, state, and national levels.

In 1983 she founded Medical Media Associates, a business that focused on patient education and the quality of patient care. Edith later conceived of, obtained support, and helped create a national project that established practice guidelines for clinical care of dialysis patients. Data from an article in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases determined that this major quality of care project conducted by Edith and her team resulted in a reduction in patient morbidity and mortality. Her work dramatically improved the quality of life of persons with kidney disease.

At the same time, she was a wife and a long-time dialysis partner to her husband, Dr. Terry Oberley, and the mother of sons Matthew Oberley (37) and Alex Oberley (30).

Edith was born on October 20, 1946, in Missoula, Montana, to a family with deep Montana roots. She entered Northwestern University in 1964 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1968. She received her Masters Degree in English from Northwestern in 1972.

Edith and Terry Oberley were married on June 19, 1968 in Missoula, Montana. For the next several years, she taught English at high schools in the Chicago area, until her career as a kidney patient advocate began in 1973. In 1974, the family moved to Madison, Wisconsin.

Edith's advocacy for kidney patients started when she and her husband visited dialysis units throughout the country and gave lectures on how to succeed in dialysis and how to incorporate dialysis into family life. She wrote patient education books on artificial kidney treatment and kidney transplantation. Her books were translated into several languages and she received many letters from patients around the world.

A long time National Kidney Foundation volunteer, she volunteered at the local, state, and national levels. She was Chairperson of the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin and received the Volunteer of the Year award at both state and national levels.

Edith and her business partner, Paulette Sacksteder, established Medical Media Associates, a business that focused on quality of patient care, in 1983. Simultaneously with her volunteer roles with the Kidney Foundation, they worked with clinics and hospitals in Wisconsin ""teaching people about health"" before turning to the national kidney patient scene. In 1993, they created Medical Education Institute and applied for a federal not-for-profit 501-c-3 status, and it was awarded that same year. Edith and Paulette in 2000 provided assets and equipment for MEI, which continues today to help kidney patients.

Edith retired from her patient care advocacy work in 2006. She began a new avocation of photography, which became a second career. She established ""Bitterroot and Bergamot,"" a photography website where she posted photographs taken primarily in Montana and in Wisconsin. She sang in the Unitarian Society Choir and volunteered with friends to sing at Oakwood Village, an assisted living facility. Edith Toole Oberley is survived by her husband Terry Oberley, sons Alex and Matthew, as well as Edith's daughter-in-law Khanh (Matthew), and granddaughters Sophie and Juliette.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at the FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY OF MADISON, 900 University Bay Drive.

Memorials in Edith's name may be made to the Nature Conservancy, http://www.nature.org/.