A celebration life service for Stan Brock, the founder and president of Remote Area Medical, will be held on September 27 at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium, according to RAM.
The service will begin at 6 p.m. Brock requested that donations be made in his memory to RAM in lieu of flowers. For more information on donating, visit www.ramusa.org.
The larger-than-life hero passed away at 82 on Wednesday, August 29. He had recently suffered a stroke.
In his 82 years of life, Brock had wrestled giant snakes and jumped from airplanes -- but what really drove him was his mission to help those in need.
He founded RAM in 1985 to serve as a safety net provider of free medical care in remote areas of developing countries, such as Guyana, Mexico and Haiti.
"Stan was one in 10 million people, him and Mother Teresa maybe," said John Myers, VP of the RAM Board of Directors.
The Englishman turned South American cowboy developed a love for animals living in Guyana.
His talents drew the spotlight on TV as a star on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.
"He walked away from fame in the movies, a career as a pilot, to give back to people not just here in the United States but South America and all around the world," said Jeff Eastman, CEO of RAM.
A fall from a horse and days from help in the jungle taught Brock the need for bringing medical care to remote sections of the world. That blossomed into providing free medical care for people hurting in urban areas.
Brock quickly realized there a huge need not just abroad, but right here at home. The first local RAM clinic was held on May 9, 1992, in Sneedville to help a community that had just lost its only hospital and dentist.