In memoriam Ruud Kempen

With deep sadness, we learned of the death of Prof. dr. G.I.J.M. (Ruud) Kempen. Ruud passed away in the evening of August 30 at the age of 65, in the presence of his wife Anita and his family.

Ruud started working at Maastricht University in 1998 as associate professor at the Department of Medical Sociology. As professor of Social Gerontology he transferred to the Department of Health Care & Nursing Science in 2008. As a duo chair of that department, he was a co‑initiator in establishing the current department of Health Services Research.

Ruud is the founder of social gerontology at Maastricht University. He stood at the cradle of scientific research into care of older people at our university and was a pillar of the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care Limburg. Ruud Kempen received a lot of national and international recognition for his research. For his many merits, he received, among other things, the honorary membership of NVG-KNOWS. Under his chair, the World Congress of the IAGG was brought to the Netherlands, which will take place in 2026.

Ruud supervised many PhD students and guided them to successful defences. He continued this roll for as long as his illness allowed and one of his last PhD students will be defending her dissertation on 14 September. Ruud also received a lot of recognition for his contributions to education and, for many years, he was the coordinator of the bachelor Health Sciences. Ruud was also very active within the organization: during his career, he has been a member of the faculty board, a department chair, a leader of various research programs within the CAPHRI research school, a member of the HSR management team and a member of the executive board of the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care Limburg.

Modesty and collegiality were typical characteristics of Ruud. In his work, he was extremely disciplined, always prepared in detail and punctual. Ruud was also extremely involved with colleagues, with the ins and outs of the department and university. This interest in everyone and everything remained even during his illness, which lasted for over two years. That process has been very harsh on him and Anita with many treatments, moments of hope and disappointment, joy and sadness. Ruud dealt with his illness like the scientist he was. He searched for literature and explained in detail to us the treatments and their evidence. In this way, he kept control of the situation he was in for as long as possible. Despite knowing he would not win the battle in the end.

Maastricht University and the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care Limburg are extremely grateful to Ruud Kempen. Thanks to him, a solid foundation for future scientific education and research contributes to the further substantiation of care for older people. We wish Anita and Ruud’s family our sincere condolences with this great loss.

Colleagues of the Health Services Research department and the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care Limburg

The funeral service will be held in private.
There is, however, the possibility to say goodbye to Ruud in person:

• Sunday 4 September 17.30 until 19.00; La Grande Suisse, Mariënwaard 61, Maastricht or;
• Monday 5 September 19.00 until 21.00; Fiore Uitvaartzorg, Kerkpad 17 in Sint Hubert (Noord Brabant).

In April a farewell interview with Ruud was published (in Dutch), which can be read here.