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When did Dr. Bob die, and what were his last words to A.A.?

In short:

  • Dr. Bob died of cancer at City Hospital in Akron, Ohio, on November 16, 1950. He had been sober since June 10, 1935.
  • His last public words to A.A. were a short talk at the Cleveland convention in July 1950: keep the program simple, it comes down to love and service, guard your tongue, and keep helping the alcoholics who come after you.
  • The last words Bill W. heard from him, a few weeks later, were "Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple!" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957).
  • The two books that report his words at the very end agree he knew death had come but give different wording, and our books warn that many sayings credited to Dr. Bob can't be confirmed.

When he died

The Big Book gives the year twice: the introduction to his story says he carried the message to more than 5,000 alcoholics "To 1950, the year of his death" (p. 171), and the 1955 foreword says he never drank again "up to the moment of his death in 1950" (p. xvi).

P-53 gives the date and cause: "He died of cancer at City Hospital, Akron, November 16, 1950." (P-53). It says he had been stricken in the summer of 1948 (P-53). A.A. Comes of Age (1957) and Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (1980) give the same date (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Bill's 1969 talk, also in P-53, says an operation around 1947 missed the cancer (P-53).

He was buried in Akron, "buried just like other folks" with a simple headstone and no monument, after the funeral was conducted by Dr. Walter Tunks, the minister Bill had phoned from the Mayflower Hotel in 1935 (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). In Bill's 1969 talk, Dr. Bob had turned down a proposed mausoleum, saying he had a hunch "that we ought to be buried just like other people" (P-53).

His last words to A.A. as a whole: Cleveland, July 1950

P-53 says he gathered his strength for a brief appearance at the first International Convention in Cleveland, where he stressed simplicity: "Let's not louse it all up with Freudian complexes and things that are interesting to the scientific mind" (P-53).

The full talk is printed in Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (1980). Besides simplicity, he said the Steps come down to "love" and "service"; asked members to guard the tongue and use it with kindness; and said none of us would be here if somebody hadn't taken the time to help us, so we should never become so complacent that we won't help "our less fortunate brothers" (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). That book says most people remember only the line about simplicity, "But Dr. Bob said a good deal more than that" (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). See: What happened at the 1950 Cleveland convention?

His last words to Bill W.

In A.A. Comes of Age (1957), Bill tells of visiting Dr. Bob at his Akron home a few weeks after Cleveland, to ask his consent to a General Service Conference that would hand A.A.'s affairs to its members (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Dr. Bob thought it over and said, "Bill, it has to be A.A.'s decision, not ours." (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Then, at the door, knowing he faced a serious operation the next week: "Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple!" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Bill writes, "That was the last time I ever saw him." (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957).

Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (1980) quotes Bill's same account and places the visit on the Sunday before Dr. Bob went into the hospital for the last time (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). P-43 (1971) says "Let's keep it simple" were "the last Bill W. heard from his fellow founder" (P-43).

So "keep it simple" was Dr. Bob's parting word to his partner, spoken at his door, about how A.A. should be run. It was not spoken on his deathbed, and it came together with a decision to hand A.A. over to its members.

At the very end

The two accounts in our sources agree that he knew the end had come, but not on his words: - A.A. Comes of Age (1957) prints a tribute saying he remarked to his attendant, "I think this is it" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957), and died at noon on November 16. - Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (1980) gives the account of Emma K., who with her husband cared for Dr. Bob in his last years. She says she did not reach the hospital in time; in her telling he looked at his blue fingernails and said, "Call the family." (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980), adding that this was it.

Neither account is from someone our sources show was in the room, and our sources don't settle the exact words.

A caution the sources give themselves

A.A. Comes of Age also calls "Let's not louse this thing up; let's keep it simple" Dr. Bob's "famous final admonition" to A.A. (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers adds a warning: people often say "Dr. Bob said…" to give weight to their own point, and "Apart from 'Let's keep it simple,'" it is hard to tell which sayings are really his (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). If a quotation credited to Dr. Bob isn't in his story, his talks in P-53, or these books, treat it with care.

Read it yourself

Sources

Source Pages Date
Alcoholics Anonymous, introduction to "Doctor Bob's Nightmare" 171 written after 1950 (the story itself, 1939)
Alcoholics Anonymous, Foreword to the Second Edition xvi 1955
P-53, biographical sketch; Bill W.'s last major talk — pamphlet © 2017; talk October 1969
A.A. Comes of Age — 1957
P-43, Twelve Traditions Illustrated — © 1971
Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers — 1980

Big Book page numbers are from the fourth edition (2001).

Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. Quotations are brief and cited; the Big Book, P-43, P-53, A.A. Comes of Age and Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers are © A.A. World Services, Inc.

These pages answer questions about A.A. from A.A.'s own published literature, read in full, with every quote checked word for word against the page it cites. Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. What we read, and when each source was written.