It is with great sadness, that I received a phone call on Sunday 4^th of January 2025 saying Stella Milsom had died at home after a short illness. Both Anna Fenton and I attended her funeral on Friday 17^th January, along with many from her class at medical school, friends, family and most of the medical colleagues she was associated with. 

Stella was a willing participant in AMS activities. She was warm, compassionate, a formidable intellect, reasoned, and articulate. At the AMS Queenstown Conference, “Remarkable Reflections on Midlife and Menopause” in 2023,  Stella  gave four stellar lectures that included ‘Managing Controversial Issues in the Complex Patient’.  

In the Pharmac specialist advisory committee roles she shared with Anna Fenton, she was a champion for better access to medications for women. Together, one of their greatest achievements was getting Utrogestan funded - 10 years of effort behind the scenes. But she would never have made that comment publicly. Anna said ‘She was always well reasoned at the Pharmac meetings and was able to be pleasantly forceful when needed. She encouraged me to stay on the committee when we all felt that we were just a box ticking exercise and our opinions/advice didn't really make a lot of difference. She was a great educator and her manner of distilling a challenging area down to its basics was a great attribute’. 

Not only an excellent, energetic endocrinologist (reproductive and infertility), with a special interest in the menopause, Stella was a caring family-oriented person, devoted to her 98-year-old mother. She endured health challenges with great fortitude that few endure and few knew about, especially at the end.

The AMS and former Past Presidents, Professor Rod Baber and Professor Bronwyn Stuckey knew her well and admired her. We have sent our condolences to her husband Paget and their two children, Richard and Antonia. For those who knew her, she will be sadly missed.

Sylvia Rosevear
AMS President