I'm a very lucky fellow. My partner, Wendy, and I have
been happily married for thirty-eight years. I have
always loved her and I always will. We have been blessed
with three wonderful children ages nineteen to
thirty-four. They're terrific.
Our ancestors came to Canada from England, Ireland,
Scotland and the United States of America. I had a great
start in life, I was raised by loving, well educated
parents. My father was a Ph.D. (magna cum laude) organic
chemist and Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada
(FCIC). He retired as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) Deputy Commissioner; the RCMP's second highest
rank and later worked for the National Research Council
Canada. My mother was a Registered Nurse, seamstress,
artist and home maker.
I was twenty-four years of age when I received my M.D.
from the University of Ottawa. I completed a rotating
internship at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. I became a
member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
British Columbia in 1974. I completed surgical work-ups
and performed surgical assists for two years in Victoria,
British Columbia at the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt
Hospital. While living in Victoria I also completed my
Flight Surgeon's training. Later I was Senior Medical
Officer at a thirteen bed hospital isolated at the
northern tip of Vancouver Island. Two doctors, four
nurses and six medical assistants cared for military
personnel and residents of the nearby logging and fishing
communities. We were so isolated that we had to phone
donors whenever a patient needed a transfusion.
Delivering babies and doing surgery in total isolation
was an unforgettable experience. I received a personal
letter of commendation from General George A. Brown (then
Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff). I was also
awarded Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee Medal. I left
the Canadian Armed Forces in 1977. I worked as a family
doctor in the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island, for
thirteen years. I spent ten of those thirteen years in
Cumberland. I managed the construction of a two-story,
thirty room clinic for my partners in Cumberland. Later,
I built my own clinic in Courtenay and practiced another
three years there. I chaired the Paediatric Committee as
well as the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee at Saint
Joseph's General Hospital in Comox. I delivered babies,
spent some time covering the emergency room and
frequently assisted our surgeons in the operating room. I
moved to Deep Cove, BC in 1991. I worked as a locum for
one year in North Vancouver. I then managed the
construction of a walk-in-clinic at the Brentwood Town
Centre in Burnaby. We opened our clinic with no patients.
Over the next five years almost forty-thousand
individuals made frequent visits to our clinic. After
twenty-five years of medical practice, I retired in 1998.
I am now a lifetime retired member of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. For some
reason, many people think that doctors never leave
medical practice voluntarily; so let me put your unspoken
question to rest, I was never sued. Today, my home
business gives me the freedom to make a difference in an
exciting new way. Happy energetic people make our world a
better place.
>> home business
Other Stuff
Paper route for The Star Weekly
Loved Saturday afternoon at the movies
Played a lot of golf as a kid (nine—thirty-six
holes a day)
Dominion Marksman Gold
Elected Martin Collegiate Head Boy (House of Stewart)
Member of the Chess Club
Played point guard and halfback for my high school
basketball and football teams
Red Cross Swimming Instructor
Royal Life Saving Society Bronze Medallion and Award of
Merit
Worked as a life guard and taught swimming for four
summers
Worked one summer at the RCMP Crime Lab in Ottawa
Scuba Diver
Red Cross First Aid Examiner
Ministry of Transport (MOT) pilot fitness exams
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
Owned a computer software business (Acknowledged
Solutions)
Hobbies: Landscape and nature photography, audiophile
stuff, digital video and all things Apple and Mac