Linda Maurer, 65, Who First Wore the MedicAlert Bracelet, Dies

New York Times
October 23, 2004

TURLOCK - Linda Collins Maurer, the first person to wear a Medic Alert bracelet, died at her home here on Oct. 13. She was 65.

The cause was breast cancer, said her son, Paul Maurer.

Ms. Maurer was a teenager when she became the first member of the Medic Alert Foundation, which uses bracelets to warn medical professionals in an emergency about serious health problems. Her original identification bracelet is now at the Smithsonian Institution.

It was after Ms. Maurer had an allergic reaction to a tetanus antitoxin scratch test that her father, a doctor, suggested that she carry a written warning about her allergy. She did, attaching it to a bracelet.

Her parents later designed a silver identification bracelet, which bore not only a listing of her allergies but also the emblem of the medical profession - two serpents wrapped around a staff - and the words "Medic Alert."

Spurred by her experience, Ms. Maurer's parents started the Medic Alert Foundation in 1956 to provide emergency access to the medical records of people with potentially life-threatening ailments.

Linda Collins, a native of Turlock, some 50 miles east of San Jose, graduated from Stanford University with a degree in nursing. She married John Maurer and had three children before the couple divorced.

Ms. Maurer was an avid golfer who won a number of amateur titles, including the California Women's Golf Association Championship, before turning professional. She twice won the Ladies Professional Golf Association Senior Teaching Division National Championship.

Besides her son, she is survived by two daughters, Kathryn Maurer and Karry Maurer Walker; two brothers; a sister; and two grandchildren.