Dr Michael Entwisle, 1927–2020

Dr Michael Entwisle was born in French Guinea on 31 October 1927 and died on 31 July 2020 in Courtenay, BC, on the hobby farm he dubbed Guineacres.

At age 5, Michael returned to England with his parents where he was educated and completed his military service as an officer in the Royal Artillery. He went on to study medicine at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, which led to a variety of positions as a doctor, before he trained to become a psychiatrist. He married Rosemary Moore in 1955 and they raised four children, immigrating as a family to Calgary in 1969 where Michael joined the new Foothills Hospital and the new medical school at the University of Calgary. He was appointed to the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine in 1971, a relationship which continued until 1991 when he was appointed professor emeritus of psychiatry. During those years he was director of the Residency Training Program in Psychiatry; Adolescent Treatment Programs, including Wood’s Christian Homes; and the medical staff of Alberta Mental Health Services, Calgary Region. He also served on the Admissions Committee of the medical school and as associate director in the Department of Psychiatry at Calgary General Hospital.

After the dissolution of his first marriage, in 1988 Michael met Susan Ketchen who lured him to Vancouver Island where for 6 years he was director of psychiatry at St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Comox and consultant psychiatrist to BC Mental Health Services in the Comox Valley and north Vancouver Island, linking with UBC as an honorary clinical professor of psychiatry.

He retired in 1997 and developed the skills needed for country life. He happily learned to use a chainsaw, herd chickens, and drive a tractor, and he enjoyed his ride-on lawnmower until the last month of his life. He took special pleasure in sharing his rural paradise with his children, grandchildren, and colleagues. He had an easy laugh, and behind his gentle exterior was a remarkable determined spirit. He died on his terms, in his own bed with a view out over the pasture to the mountains.

Michael is survived by his wife, Susan Ketchen; children, Alison, Christine (Lance), and Stephen; and grandchildren, Kaela (Andrew), and Alexandra (Matt). He was predeceased by his son, Jonathan.

If desired, donations may be made to a favorite charity or the Red Cross.
—Susan Ketchen
Courtenay, BC