Death Of Bill Bredenberg

]From the Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville:

Karl W. "Bill" Bredenberg, one of the founders of the Social Security Administration, died Tuesday at his Jacksonville home from multiple myeloma. He was 95.

Mr. Bredenberg served in some of the agency's top national posts. He oversaw implementation of Medicare in 1966 before coming to Jacksonville in 1970 to manage the Jacksonville office and be close to his family. ...

In an interview with the Times-Union when he retired in 1972, Mr. Bredenberg recalled there was strong resistance to the new federal program many saw as foreign to American traditions.

He recalled processing one of the first survivor claims under Social Security in 1940 from a death that occurred just a few minutes after benefits first became available.

Mr. Bredenberg served as manager of several district offices and was in charge of the New York-New Jersey region and later the Atlantic region covering the Southeast. Under the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, he was responsible for coordinating all Health, Education and Welfare activities across the nation.

He became deputy assistant commissioner for Social Security and played a key role in reorganizing the field force. With the advent of Medicare, Mr. Bredenberg set up a control center to monitor problems.