George HANKS

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HANKS: Dr. George Edward (Ted) Hanks - 1925 ~ 2010. M.R.C.S. (Eng.), L.R.CP. (Lond.), L.M.S.S.A., 1949. It is with great sadness that the family announces the death of Ted Hanks at Poseidon Care Centre, on February 18, 2010, at the age of 84 years. Ted leaves to mourn his wife, Ann; his children; Karen (Wales, U.K.); Robert, wife Nicole and grandson, Max (Toronto); Timothy (Winnipeg); Sarah, husband, Curt Campbell (Regina); and Arthur (Toronto); his brother, Norman, wife Rita and family (England); and extended family in Canada, U.K. and U.S.A. Ted was born on March 5, 1925, in Pontypridd, South Wales, to George Havelock and Clara Hanks. After finishing Grammar School he worked in the local Public Health Office and attended night classes to prepare for entrance exams to medical school. Following a stint in the Royal Navy, Ted entered medical school in Glasgow, completing his studies in Cardiff and qualifying in London in 1949. Ted’s first appointment was to an acute 100 bed hospital in South Wales where he was the sole resident. He then worked as an assistant in a general practice of over 6,500 patients. In 1951 he became a surgical resident in hospitals in Hampshire and northern England. In 1955, disenchanted with the opportunities for young doctors in the National Health Service, Ted went to Western Nigeria where for the next five years he was general surgeon for several hospitals operated by the Roman Catholic Church. He often boasted that he was the only Anglican employed by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Benin! In 1959, Ted met his future wife, Ann Karry of Philadelphia, a teacher in a nearby girls’ secondary school. Because Ann was American, they decided to compromise and immigrate to Canada. They chose Manitoba because it was in the middle of the country. Ted’s first job in Manitoba was at Vita. In August, 1961, he accepted the position of Municipal Doctor for the R.M. of Argyle where he practiced out of Baldur Hospital; a post he held until the transition to universal medicare in 1969. (He was the last Municipal Doctor in Manitoba). In his 36 years of medical practice in Baldur, until his retirement in 1997, Ted always enjoyed both the challenge of rural medicine and the cooperation that was established among the neighboring physicians and hospitals. In an emergency he could always count on instant support from his colleagues. While medicine was Ted’s primary interest, searching second-hand book stores was his second. Famous for always having a book tucked in his pocket, he especially enjoyed reading medical history and biography. By the time of his retirement he had amassed a library of 10,000 books. The family wishes to thank the staff on the fifth floor at Poseidon Lodge for their compassionate and dignified care during the last eight years of Ted’s life. Following cremation, a memorial service will be held on Wednesday, February 24, at Neil Bardal Inc., 3030 Notre Dame Avenue (across from Brookside Cemetery) at 1:00 p.m. Flowers are gratefully declined. If desired, a donation may be made to Doctors Without Borders, Suite 402 720 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5S 2T9 or the Baldur Public Library, Baldur, MB, R0K 0B0. Neil Bardal Inc. (204) 949-2200. nbardal.mb.ca

As published in Brandon Sun on Feb 22, 2010