KIRK OSTERLAND, MD

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KIRK OSTERLAND, MD

Dr. C. Kirk Osterland passed away peacefully on September 29, 2020, in Westmount, Quebec.
He is survived by his three children, Kathleen Morton (Christopher), Michael (Lisa) and Andrew; four grandchildren, Kate, Alex, Beck and Wes; and his niece Tannis Hopkins. His wife, Jane, died earlier this year.
Born on September 6, 1932, in Red Deer, Alberta, Kirk grew up in Winnipeg, where he met the smart, capable and beautiful Jane Wallace during their days at the University of Manitoba.
Kirk was an athlete-scholar, excelling on both the badminton court and the golf course while pursuing a medical degree. Following his graduation, Kirk and Jane set out for New York City where he worked as a research associate at the renowned Rockefeller Institute. They then spent a year in Paris, where Kirk continued to pursue immunology research at the Louis Pasteur Institute. Their next stop was St. Louis, Missouri, when Kirk was named Chief of Rheumatology at Barnes Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Washington University.
Ten years later, they moved to Montreal - "one of the truly great cities of North America," according to Kirk. Working as Chief of Immunology at McGill University and the Royal Victoria Hospital was an ideal job for Kirk. He was able to contribute to and help coordinate McGill's leading-edge research in immunology, and treat patients suffering from severe arthritis - many of them children at the Shriner's Hospital. Kirk was honoured as Professor Emeritus at McGill in 2002.
Longtime members of the Atwater Club and the Hillside Tennis Club, Kirk and Jane became pioneers in 1980, when they moved to Old Montreal into a four century old stone house. They lived and entertained there for nearly twenty years.
Shortly after retirement in the late 1990s, Kirk and Jane relocated to southern Vermont, first in the town of Dorset and later in Manchester Village. Family and friends convened there often, grandchildren grew up, Kirk revisited his golf game and became a bridge grand master. Jane gardened, volunteered and continued to take care of everything - just as she had always done.
They returned to Montreal in 2016 and lived a year with their son Andrew. The challenges of getting older led to one final move to the Chateau Westmount Residence for three plus years. The care they received from the dedicated staff there was exceptional.
Kirk and Jane never did return to live in Winnipeg, but it was an important touchstone for them. Each visit was invariably followed by exclamations of how special it was to "be back home" and to soak up the love of all their dear friends.
Kirk liked to call himself "an idea man." Whether it was in the field of pure science, the political landscape, sports or pop culture, Kirk had many ideas. In truth, however, what he loved most about ideas was to exchange them and to gleefully argue about them with family and friends - ideally over one of Jane's delicious meals with a bottle or two of wine.

Condolences: 14 Melbourne Avenue, Westmount, QC, H3Z 1H7, Canada.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 03, 2020