Dr Gavin Wynne Smart, 1958–2025

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 67, No. 4, May 2025, Pages 148-149 Obituaries
By: William Sanders, MD April Sanders, MD

Dr Gavin Wynne Smart

Dr Gavin Smart passed away suddenly in Vernon, BC, on 27 February 2025. Gavin was born in Edmonton and grew up in Victoria. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in kinesiology at Simon Fraser University in 1979 and his MD from the University of British Columbia in 1984. He did his rotating internship at Wellesley Hospital in Toronto until 1985 and then worked briefly in Thunder Bay before returning to BC to start a residency in rehabilitation medicine. After 1 year in residency, Gavin decided he’d rather be a general practitioner and, along with his wife Rhonda, joined his friends Bill and April Sanders in Quesnel, BC, where they were working at the time. While in Quesnel, Gavin and Rhonda welcomed into the world their son Rowan and daughter Silken. After 7 years of full-service general practice work in Quesnel, he relocated with his family to Vernon, where he spent the rest of his life.

Gavin was a man of many talents. He was a gifted athlete. In his final year of high school, he was the fastest 400-metre runner on Vancouver Island. Despite initially being a sprinter, he decided to run longer distances and eventually ran the 1984 Vancouver marathon. He competed on the UBC track team while in medical school. Gavin also played soccer, cycled mountain and road bikes, paddled river canoes, skied cross-country and downhill, and went on numerous backpacking adventures with friends and family. He also completed the Penticton Ironman. For many years, Gavin paddled the Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit with friends from Vernon and Quesnel during reunions in October. 

Gavin was a skilled woodworker, photographer, and videographer. He always took cameras and drones on trips to slightly annoy his friends and family with admonitions to pose for the camera, only to later produce entertaining professional-quality photo and video montages. Gavin also had the unusual musical talent of being able to play almost any tune on the piano by ear. He rarely needed to use sheet music.

Gavin was a ferocious organizer and volunteer. He ran annual winter and summer triathlons in Quesnel, was on the planning committee to build Vernon’s indoor soccer facility, was one of the main organizers of the annual Vernon Doctors Hockey tournament, was a physician to the Air Rescue One Heli Winch Society, was head physician to the SilverStar Mountain Ski Docs program, was physician to the Vernon Vipers hockey team for many years, and was chief of family practice at Vernon Jubilee Hospital for several terms. 

But where Gavin really shone was as a family doctor. Beloved by his many grateful patients, he practised with the highest of integrity. Conscientious almost to a fault, Gavin was well known for his thorough care. 

Kindness was also one of Gavin’s defining characteristics. He would happily offer to perform a professional-quality photo shoot for you or your family, custom-frame your picture with his woodworking tools, refurbish your canoe, or just drive you somewhere when you weren’t able to drive yourself. As friends go, he was the best. He was our friend for almost 50 years, and he will be deeply missed.
—William Sanders, MD
Vernon
—April Sanders, MD
Vernon

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William Sanders, MD, April Sanders, MD. Dr Gavin Wynne Smart, 1958–2025. BCMJ, Vol. 67, No. 4, May, 2025, Page(s) 148-149 - Obituaries.


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