Obituary of John Evans

John Robert Evans Died peacefully at home February 13, 2015, after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. John enjoyed a full life marked by contributions on many fronts. He pioneered a new model of medical education as the founding Dean of McMaster University Medical School in 1965. He served as President of the University of Toronto from 1972-1978. He was the first Director of the World Bank's Population, Health and Nutrition Division. He was the CEO of Allelix, Canada's first biotechnology company, the Chair of TorStar, the first Chair of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the Chair of the Rockefeller Foundation, and most recently the founding Chair of MaRS. Throughout his career and his life, his greatest satisfaction came from caring for others as a clinician and mentoring colleagues in their careers. Born October 1, 1929, John joined siblings Mary, Watson, Gertrude, Gwendolyn, Anne and Elizabeth as the youngest of 7 children of Mary and William Watson Evans. John will be missed by his loving wife Gay, of 61 years, his children Derek, Mark, Michael, Gill, Tim and Willa, his daughters/sons-in- law, Janet, Sarah, Lise, Alayne and David and his 23 grandchildren. The family are grateful to a wonderful care team that included Drs. Sandra Black, David Goldbloom, John Floras, Tony Lang and Pauline Pariser and a home-care team including Graciela, Miezel, Minda, Rose, Sharyn.Tasshyn, Samira and Elham. A memorial service will be held at Grace Church on the Hill in Toronto on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Parkinson's Society Canada.