By: Steve Edworthy, MD,
Dr James Malcolm (Dan) Edworthy, 1920–2011
Issue: BCMJ,
vol. 53, No. 2, March 2011,
Page 91 Obituaries
My father, James Malcolm Frederick Edworthy, was known to all his friends as Dan, a name his chums bestowed on him when he was a teenager, as a member of the Argonauts Boys group in St. Thomas, Ontario.
My father, James Malcolm Frederick Edworthy, was known to all his friends as Dan, a name his chums bestowed on him when he was a teenager, as a member of the Argonauts Boys group in St. Thomas, Ontario.
When we were children the neighborhood kids often called him “Dr Dan, the Bandage Man.” Though perhaps a simple observation, this gentle naming seemed to fit well with his familiar and personable disposition that we all came to know over the latter years of his life. This was the name that his hunting, fishing, golfing, and other friends called him.
Dan was born in Edmonton and went to high school in St. Thomas, Ontario. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario, London, and was made a licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada in 1944. After doing postgraduate work in Kingston, then practising with the Navy in Halifax, he and Margaret moved west. He became a member of the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1947 and practised in BC until 1986.
He established a pediatric practice in Kamloops and provided care to many young families through the Irving Clinic. He became close friends with the people in Kamloops, as well as with ranching families throughout the Okanagan and Cariboo region. He loved the outdoor life of horseback riding, hunting, canoeing, skiing, and fishing. He was also an active participant in UBC’s medical residency training program.
In 1970 he and Margaret moved to Kelowna to establish a neonatal and pediatric practice with his colleague, Dr Cliff Henderson. In order to provide specialty care to patients in rural areas he also drove to Revelstoke, Golden, and Nakusp on a regular basis for several years before retiring in 1986. He was much loved by his young patients and their families.
Dan was a long-time member of Rotary, where he made many lifelong friends. He served as chapter president in Kelowna, and district governor in 1990. After retiring from medicine, he “graduated” to Probus, which he enjoyed immensely. Golf was his passion in later years. He always looked forward to weekly games with his friends.
The simple things in life—good stories around the dinner table, after-school baseball games in the neighborhood, hunting trips into the wilds of BC, canoe trips on western rivers, and golfing—were the most important things for him. The memory of him reminds me of how medicine can affect the life of our communities.
Predeceased by his loving wife, Margaret, in 2002; his brother, David; and his sisters, Ruth and Beth, Dan is survived by his three daughters: Joan (Ev), Diana (Bren), and Nancy (Jack); his son Steven (Shawna); his loving grandchildren Jeneen (Derick), Kira (Dean), Benj (Jordanna), David (Heather), Jessie, Jen (Kurt), Russ, and Sonia (Lynne); his great-grandchildren Jayden, Ryan, Tea, Connor, Calib, and Theo; his brother Aubrey (Winn) of Saskatoon; and brother-in-law Doug (Viv) Bocking of London, Ontario.
—Steve Edworthy, MD
Calgary