Dr Peter Finden Stonier

1930–2009

On 8 June 2009 the family, friends, and colleagues of Dr Peter Stonier lost a special person who lived life with a vibrant largesse. Peter is survived by his wife, Mona, and daughter; Suz­anne, his children, Alan, Susan, Paul, and their mother Jackie; and five grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, John.

Peter was born and raised in Powell River, BC. His parents had emigrated from England and his father worked at the mill in Powell River. Peter was the oldest of three brothers. He attended UBC, graduating from medicine in 1956. Following a rotating internship at St Paul’s Hospital, he entered into general practice and moved to the Sunshine Coast and practised with Dr A. Swan.

Peter left general practice to pursue specialist training in the United States. Although he started in obstetrics/gynecology, he changed to pathology. Following speciality certification, he worked at Merck, Sharpe & Dohme research division in West Point, Pennsylvania. 

He then moved to Kamloops to work with Dr Glen Martin in general pathology. His ca­reer took him to Edmonton and finally to CJ Coady Associates in the Fraser Valley in late 1980s. Peter worked as a pathologist and medical laboratory director at Delta Hospital and Peace Arch Hospital until his retirement in 1995. He was a long-time supporter of the Diagnostic Accreditation Program both in committees and as a surveyor traveling to laboratories throughout the province.

Peter’s character was best described in this eulogy by his son, Paul, as being “a good guy to hang out with.” Peter was imposing physically and this, with his loud greeting, could be very intimidating. In one bout of exuberance he picked up a colleague and tossed him into his own pool—fully dressed! He had just learned the colleague was returning to Canada. 

Usually he was well behaved, but with a dry sense of humour and a deadpan presentation. This, coupled with his retentive memory, made him an entertaining raconteur. He had a wide variety of interests including playing the piano, stamp collecting, and ham radio operations. His social network was very important, with some friends dating back to public school days.

Peter had experienced declining health for a number of years, but his memory and sharp wit persisted until the end. We have lost a physician who was a humanist with a large presence and, with apologies to his ham radio network, one with a truly “broad bandwidth.”
—Richard (Dick) Muir, MD 
Langley