In front of 200 guests of the International BioIron Society Awards Dinner held on May 27, 2011, Marie Warder accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in furthering awareness of hemochromatosis within Canada and internationally.

“I don’t really feel like I deserve this because I don’t recall doing anything except putting one foot in front of the other over a period of years,” said Marie humbly. “I feel it was more of divine intervention that these things happened,” she said, referring to the help she received from numerous authorities on iron overload that enabled her to gain the knowledge she needed to help others affected by hemochromatosis.

Dr. Samuel Krikler, a longtime friend and supporter of Marie, and Bob Rogers, the Executive Director of the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, paid a tribute to Marie before she was presented with the award by Dr. Tomas Ganz, president of the International Bioiron Society.

Marie founded the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society in 1980, and consequently established the Haemochromatosis Society of South Africa and the International Association of Haemochromatosis Societies. Marie’s beloved husband, Tom Warder, passed away at age 67 due to complications caused by hemochromatosis.