WILLIAM DONALD (BILL)

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WILLIAM DONALD (BILL) MacDIARMID William Donald (Bill) died peacefully on April 2, 2000. Born to Eva and Jack on June 22, 1926, Bill spent his childhood in the towns of Arcola, Carlyle, Balcarres and Regina, SK. He attended college at Regina and Saskatoon before completing Medical School at U. of Toronto in 1949. He married Bette (nee Brown) in 1953 and is survived by her and their children, John (Cheryl), Margaret (Robert), Donald (Ruth) and Andrew; two grandchildren; and his sister Marion. Bill trained and worked as a family physician in Regina and Shaunavon, SK prior to commencing a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Utah in 1958. This led to post-graduate research in human genetics and ultimately to a life of academia. He worked in the university departments of Internal Medicine at Utah, Manitoba and Memorial (NF), culminating in department head positions in the latter two institutions. Bill was a well respected clinician, teacher and administrator, and served his profession through the Manitoba Medical Association and medical school accreditation committees in both Canada and the U.S. He was involved in the early days of the "Klinic", a storefront drop-in clinic in inner-city Winnipeg reaching out to persons who might be intimidated by more traditional health care institutions. Throughout his life, Bill was an active member of the church. He was able to combine a professional interest in medical ethics with his religious convictions to participate in the United Churchs committee and report on Human Reproduction. In 1982, Bill was diagnosed with cancer and began waging a battle for his health which continued until his death. His faith and courage in the face of this struggle were both a comfort and an inspiration to his family and friends. In his retirement in Victoria he worked alongside other survivors in CanSurmount to serve the needs of cancer patients. We are grateful for Bills life and for the "borrowed time" on which he lived during the past 18 years. Donations in his memory may be made to the W.D. MacDiarmid Family Endowment for Internal Medicine, in care of University of Manitoba; Department of Private Funding, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2; or to the Canadian Cancer Society.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 08, 2000