MARCEL CORNEILLE BLANCHAER

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MARCEL CORNEILLE BLANCHAER MD 1921 - 2010 It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Marcel Corneille Blanchaer after a lengthy and debilitating illness. He was predeceased by his parents Oscar and Rosalia, his brother Ernest, his first wife Fay and his son-in-law Harold Sures. He is survived by his wife and best friend Audrey, his daughter Susan Sures, his son Carl (Brenda Millar), his grandchildren Ashleigh (Vince), Stephanie (Nathan), Maxwell, Rainer and Wallis, and his great-grandchildren Emily and Isaac. Born in Deurne, a suburb of Antwerp, Belgium on April 4, 1921, Marcel emigrated with his parents in 1924 to Detroit, Michigan for one year, then moved across the Detroit River to Remington Park, a suburb of Windsor, Ontario. There he grew up and took his early schooling in Windsor and London Ontario. At the age of 18, in 1939, he enrolled with a scholarship in Honours Biochemistry at Queen's University and in 1942, also enrolled in the newly-accelerated medical course (offered to provide doctors for the armed forces in the Second World War) graduating in 1946 with an Honours BSc and an MD, CM. In 1947 he was appointed a Markle Scholar in nutrition research at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Manitoba. Through successful research and teaching, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Physiology in the Faculty, and Head of the Biochemistry at the Faculty. After prolonged consideration (from a hospital bed) with a stroke in 1972 he decided to resign as Department Head. From 1975 until his retirement in 1989 he continued as an active teacher, a role he much loved. His experience at St. Boniface resulted in reorienting the Biochemistry course towards the practice of clinical medicine with the introduction of case studies of patients with specific biochemically-caused diseases. In 1980 he developed similar computer-based tutorials which were published by Biosoft of Cambridge, UK as the Blanchaer Clinical Case Studies for which he was honoured internationally as a pioneer in such work. Many are the students who remember him for his guidance and encouragement. They elected him Honorary President in 1978 and in 1984 nominated his as that rarest of teachers, one who inspires and persuades students to learn for themselves . His educational work was acknowledged by the University of Manitoba's Saunderson Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1984, by the Education Excellence Award of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists in 1991, and by appointment as a Professor Emeritus in 1991. But Marcel was not only a researcher, administrator and teacher his interests and accomplishments were many and varied: gourmet cook, winemaker Cotes de Riviere Rouge , music collector. He liked to play the Recorder with his friends, carried an active interest in photography which produced many lovely prints, took up with joy cross-country skiing at age 70, taught himself HTML very early and used that knowledge to publish his own genealogical history on the Web, as well as his research into the Flemish pioneers who settled in Manitoba. Unfortunately, his health continued to fail with a broken hip in 1996, a more serious stroke in 2000 and a long hospital stay in 2007. As he reported himself, he graduated from a cane to a walker to a wheelchair. The family wishes to thank the dedicated staff at the Convalescent Home of Winnipeg for their care and concern. As requested by Marcel, cremation has taken place and there will not be a service. If so desired, donations may be made to the Kerr/Blanchaer Student Bursary Fund at the Manitoba Medical College Foundation, 260 Brodie Center, 727 McDermot Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P5. 1839 Inkster Blvd. 275-5555

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 17, 2010