BJJ News
J. N. Powell
Obituary
Gordon Hunter
ordon Hunter was born in London, England. He was educated at Epsom College, Surrey, and began his medical career aged 17 at University C o l l e g e L o n d o n , g ra d u a t i n g i n 1 9 6 0 . Postgraduate training included appointments at the Birmingham Accident Hospital and University College Hospital in England, and at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. Gordon received several prestigious awards, notably the Gold Medal in Medicine (University College Hospital, London) and the Begley Prize in Surgery (Royal College of Surgeons of England) in 1960, the Otto Aufranc Award (the Hip Society of North America) in 1976, and the Bruce Tovee Award in Surgical Education (University of Toronto) in 1986. He married Virginia (Gini) in Felixstowe, Suffolk, in 1965, and they emigrated with two young children to Toronto, Canada in 1969. Gordon joined the staff of Sunnybrook Health
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1937-2015
Sciences Centre in Toronto as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in 1970. He had a distinguished career as a Senior Orthopaedic Surgeon at SBHSC, spanning a period of 30 years. He became a Professor in the Department of Surgery, University of Toronto in 1986, gaining Professor Emeritus status in 2002. Gordon was a renowned educator, travelling nationally and internationally to lecture on various orthopaedic topics, principally trauma, hip and knee arthroplasty and foot and ankle problems. He was highly regarded as a teacher and mentor by his students. He provided exemplary care to a particularly disadvantaged member of society, the amputee. Gordon studied and published extensively in the areas of hip surgery and amputation surgery. He was a doctor in the true sense of the word – committed to the care of each and every one of his patients. Friends and colleagues knew him as a quiet man with a dry sense of humour. He had a tremendous ability to take a complex problem, analyse it and recommend a solution that seemed obvious after he had given his opinion. Gordon had a keen interest in world events. In earlier years he enjoyed tennis, sailing and swimming, and he was an avid gardener. As time began to slow him down, he took pleasure in reading, jigsaw puzzles and watching cricket and rugby. He loved a good conversation and to the end he was both curious and well-informed. Above all, Gordon relished spending time with his family and his treasured dog Benji. He and Gini celebrated their golden wedding anniversary this February, and he was an adored father and grandfather. He was very much at home in the countryside and spent many happy times in the outdoors with his children and five grandchildren on both sides of the Atlantic, and more recently, on both sides of Canada. Despite a full and rewarding life in Toronto, Gordon ever remained an Englishman, with fond memories of his frequently visited home country of Suffolk. Gordon will be remembered for his breadth of knowledge, clarity of decision making, dedication to his patients and devotion to his family. He will be greatly missed.
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details
James Nelson Powell jnpowellemail@yahoo.ca
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