In Memoriam

Donalda Margaret McGeachy, née Campbell. She was 102. She is missed and loved by her four children: Lynn, Joan, Neil, and Ruth; her six grandchildren: Jana (Mike), Kristin (Mike), Dave (Leslie), Diane, Cynthia, and Cameron; and her seven great-grandchildren:  Journey, Camden, Lucas, Ben, Maddox, Nolan, and Mako. She was predeceased by her parents Milton and Hazel (née Dixon) Campbell and her brothers George and twins Wallace and Doug.

Donna lived an interesting life filled with opportunity, creativity and great changes. Although she was a “big city lady” who loved Toronto, Donna was fiercely proud of her pioneer beginning in Pelly, Sask., and the values she learned there. She was the only girl, with three older brothers. Her parents prized education and she was treated equally, rare for females at that time. Her father told her if he gave her money it could be taken from her, but no one could take away an education, so she also was able to go to university. She lived through the terrible prairie drought, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and had four children with her fellow Queen’s graduate ex-husband. She devoted herself to volunteer work, serving 25 years in the cancer field, including 12 years on the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation Board.  She also volunteered with  the Women’s Canadian Club, the Service League at London’s Victoria Hospital, and the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. She was a member of the Granite Club and the Heliconian, a club for female artists.

Dubbed “The Prima Donna”, she delighted in opera, ballet, classical music, and works of art.  She was a docent at the Art Gallery of Ontario, was herself a painter, and earned her Japanese seal after studying with a Japanese master for five years. She prized creativity and cultural pursuits and found her greatest joy in the arts, but she also shared a passion for politics with her father, a former Progressive Party MP. She and her brothers shared the vision their parents had for this country and their respect for hard work, integrity, and freedom. In her later years, she became an avid bridge player. Asked if she had any words to leave behind, she replied, “Thanks for the memories….”   

John Robert Larsen passed away on July 25, 2021. He was 61. He was predeceased by his father, Svend. He is survived by his mother, Dorothy. Loving husband of Andrea for almost 33 years; dear father of Christian and Allison; older brother of David Larsen (Sandra Larsen), Peter Larsen (Lori Yauk), Karen Dance (Paul Dance), and Joanne Larson (Glenn Larson). He will be missed by his nieces and nephews.

John was born in Sudbury, June 12, 1960. He attended Alexander PS, Wembley PS, Sudbury Secondary High School, Cambrian College, and then transferred to Queen’s for his BSc and MSc.

Throughout his academic career, John received a variety of academic awards and scholarships.

All his life, John valued sports as a player and coach, not only for the physical benefits, but also for the social and emotional gains that went along with being involved. He played and coached in a variety of sport leagues and most importantly established lifelong friendships that he held dear to his heart. He was involved in high school football and other sports during his time at Sudbury Secondary High School and played provincial level lacrosse. He played Spartan football for seven seasons. During that time, he played five different positions, was team captain, and won numerous Spartan team awards. He later returned to be part of the Spartan coaching team for five years. He helped establish and coach in the Joe MacDonald Youth Football League.

At Queen’s, while working on his engineering degree, he played for the Queen’s Golden Gaels football team for four years (1982-1985). During the ’84 season, he shared the offensive captain position. He was part of the OQIFC Championship/Yates Cup Championship/Vanier Cup Finalist Team in 1983. He held the longest kick-off return record in the Vanier Cup and tied the Queen’s record for most touchdowns in a game with three in one half in ’84. He was a member of the OQIFC Championship/Atlantic Bowl Finalist team in 1984. He was inducted into the Queen’s Football Hall of fame in 2015 as a member of the 1983 Vanier Cup Finalist Team.

After his competitive playing days were over, John enjoyed recreational squash, skiing, baseball, basketball, and hockey — again, valuing the time he spent with friends and family. Ultimately golf became his go-to sport in the summer months and on some vacations.

John loved to travel and explore new locations. He loved food and flavours, spending many hours creating fabulous food in the kitchen for his family and friends. He loved history, reading, fishing, woodworking, and gardening.

John had a successful career in the mining industry. He initially worked for Fording Coal in B.C. and then returned to Sudbury to work at Inco/Vale. Later, he moved on to Cementation Canada and then Cementation USA, where he held a variety of positions, but ultimately was area manager of Eastern U.S. and Mexico. Rather than retiring, he became a consultant and ended his career working for Hatch Ltd.

John’s family and many friends will miss his blue eyes and smile, his hard work and competitive spirit, but mostly his love of life.

Dr. David William Hurst passed away June 17, 2021. He was 90. He was predeceased by his parents, Helen Miller and Richard Rankin Hurst; his beautiful wife, Janet (Davidson); his brother, Richard; and his twin sisters, Muriel and Marjorie. He is survived by his beloved BarBar (Barb Kooy of Colorado); cherished and revered by his four daughters: Nancy Savage (Mike Savage), Carolyn Hurst (Grant Westcott), Laura Roome (Tim Roome), and Valerie McMurtry (Armando Mano); adored by his eight grandchildren: Kate Carolan (Josh) and Ian Stephenson, David, Thomas and Matthew McMurtry, Jeffrey and Christopher Roome, and Charlotte Westcott; and was delighted by the recent arrival of his first great-grandchild, Louise Carolan.

Born in Charlottetown in 1931, a much-loved child of the Great Depression, David made his way west to “Upper Canada” to attend Queen’s and graduated Meds‘56. He completed three years of postgraduate surgery training in Kingston, and then received a fellowship to study abroad for three additional years in Liverpool and London, U.K. He completed his surgical training at Montreal General Hospital, and was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons (Canada) in 1963. He became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1977, and later in his career served a five-year term as a governor of the American College of Surgeons. David served as a consulting general surgeon at Port Colborne General Hospital and Welland General Hospital for over 35 years. Even after his “retirement” he continued to assist in surgeries and be available “on call’ into his 87th year.

A true Renaissance man, David had a full and interesting life outside of his work in medicine. He learned to play the piano as a child and carried his love of music throughout his life. He was the life of the party, leading impromptu piano singalongs and Christmas Eve celebrations. As the devoted son of a Presbyterian Temperance League mother, he never discovered wine until he was in his 30s — and then never more than a glass. “Everything in moderation...including moderation.” He learned to ski in Europe in his 30s and took it up with a passion: Canadian Rockies heli-skiing, European summits, and later Colorado with his beloved BarBar. He loved reading Second World War historical non-fiction, playing and watching golf, and playing and listening to jazz. He led a successful jazz series for many years at the Roselawn Theatre. He was a community activist and fought to save trees in his hometowns of Fonthill and later Port Colborne.

He was ahead of his time by bringing laparoscopic surgery and solar roof panels to Niagara. He loved a good party and hosted many. His most favourites were for the Welland Hospital O/R nurses and the epic annual laser regattas on Camelot Beach. He learned to fly in his 50s, earned his IFR rating and had flying adventures all over North America. He was invited to sit on the Civil Aviation Tribunal of Canada and Aviation Licence Tribunal of Ontario. He was team doctor for the Welland Jr. Hockey team and travelled with the team to Russia and Yugoslavia in the early ‘80s.

Undaunted by the task of raising four daughters, he proceeded to raise them like the sons he never had. Always a man of his word, he delivered on his promise to provide for each the following: straightened teeth, a good pair of skis and the ability to use them, a university degree (undergrad only), and one wedding each. Not a penny more — ok, except maybe for his baby, Valerie (Artsci’88), who wisely chose his alma mater, Queen’s. The things he loved the most helped him through the past two years of tough times. The Toronto Maple Leafs (he held on as long as he could!), Canada Dry Ginger Ale, The Globe and Mail, BarBar, and his adoring daughters.

A heartfelt thanks goes to so many people who helped dad through these last days, his many, many friends and colleagues, and especially the kind and caring staff at Lookout Ridge.

“Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day, Nothing gold can stay” — Robert Frost.

Dr. Al Hart passed away on March 23, 2022. He was 87.

Al was a proud member of Meds’58, regularly attending their reunions including their 60th in 2018. Al came from a family of Queen’s graduates including his mother, Hazel Michael (Arts’20); children, William Alan (Law’84) and Jocelyn (Artsci’83); and granddaughter, Catherine (Artsci‘15).

Al grew up in Oshawa with older siblings Elizabeth (Buffy) and John, where the family operated the Oshawa Dairy. Al achieved his childhood dream when he went to Queen’s and was accepted into medicine. He was a member of Medical House and was living there when Boo Hoo the bear – the real bear cub – came to stay. He was a Queen’s cheerleader and part of the Queen’s contingent that marched in the Macy’s parade and was profiled in Life Magazine in the mid-1950s.

Al met Leonor Haw (Arts’57) while at Queen’s and they married soon after graduation. Al interned at Kingston General Hospital and took a year of internal medicine in Kingston. He completed a residency in pediatrics at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and a fellowship in endocrinology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Al, Leonor, and their four children – William Alan, Jocelyn, Timothy, and Paul – settled in Hamilton where Al was a pediatrician at Chedoke Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital and was a consulting pediatrician with McMaster University Medical Centre after it opened in 1972. Al was a faculty member at McMaster’s School of Medicine and a founding director of Dawn Patrol, a group home for children and youth.

Al’s love of medicine and helping children, along with his connection to Queen’s, took him to Moose Factory’s hospital in the late 1970s and early 1980s, where he cared for Indigenous children, their mothers, and families. Al spoke fondly of travelling to the nursing stations up the James Bay and Hudson Bay coasts and he cherished the soapstone carvings he received as thanks for his care. Queen’s medical services program in Moose Factory started in 1965 with four pediatricians and the Faculty of Health Sciences continues to partner with the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority.

Al later settled in the North Bay area with his wife Hallie and was on staff at St. Joseph’s General Hospital until his retirement. Al lived his final years in Burlington, close to three of his children.