RANKIN KILGOUR HAY

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

RANKIN KILGOUR HAY M.B.B.S. (Durham), F.R.C.S (England), F.R.C.S.C. Born in 1917, Rankin was raised and educated in northeastern England, graduating in medicine from the University of Durham in 1940. During the Second World War he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps, Field Ambulance Division in Normandy, Arnhem and Ghana. Postwar, Major Hay was officer in command of a hospital in Calais for soldiers repatriating to England from the European Theatre. In 1947 he began post-graduate training in general and neurological surgery at Newcastle Upon Tyne, and travelled to Montreal in 1953 on a Wilder Penfield fellowship. After 1956, he worked at the Montreal Neurological Institute, the Montreal General Hospital, and the Queen Mary Veterans Hospital. In 1958 he joined the Winnipeg Clinic and, after becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, was appointed to the Neurological staff of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine and its teaching hospitals. He was acting head of the Neurosurgery Section from 1981 until his retirement in 1984. Rankin was a consultant to the Workers Compensation Board until 1989. He then devoted his time to local neurosurgical history, publishing Neurosurgery in Manitoba in 2004. Following in his father's footsteps, Rankin was an avid golfer. He played for the University of Durham, and with friends and family into his retirement years. Rankin met his failing health with dignity and fortitude. He died in Winnipeg on May 1, 2013. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Winifred; their children: Diana Scheffler (Immo), Angela Humphrey (Richard), and R. Andrew Hay; three grandchildren: Timothy Scheffler (Pamela), Alexandra Humphrey (Michael Sims) and Meredith Humphrey (Kevin Evans); three great-grandchildren: Kalani and Kekai Scheffler, and Katherine Sims. Rankin is predeceased by his sister Joan Standing-Smith (Hugh) of Leicester, England, and is survived by his brother Dr. W. Ian Hay (Anne) of Burlington, Ontario. Those who knew and worked with Rankin will remember him as a caring and kind gentleman who always had a twinkle in his eye. His family would like to thank the staff of The Rosewood (especially Lorraine, Sandra, and Liv) and the staff of the Misericordia Health Centre (especially Andrea, Tanya, and Maria). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. George's Memorial Fund, 168 Wilton Street, Winnipeg, MB., R3M 3C3, (204) 453-5642, or to a charity of one's choice. Cremation has taken place and a family memorial service is planned.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 25, 2013