Obituary of Gordon Edgar MB BS DMRT FRCPC Catton

Born in Essex, England on December 7, 1921. Died peacefully at home in Toronto on Monday, April 30, 2007. He is sadly missed by his wife Mary ("Nicky") to whom he was married for 59 years, his brother Michael, his six children Charles, Pam, Debbie, Jane, Andrew and Jim, 16 wonderful grandchildren, and his kind and dedicated caregiver Thang Guite. He was a modest, intensely private man with simple pleasures: reading, listening to jazz and big band music, shopping at Canadian Tire and the GEM Store, going to the cottage in Quebec. He was a skilled carpenter, plumber, electrician, stone mason and car mechanic. But most importantly to him, he was a good doctor. Gordon graduated in war-time England from the University of London School of Medicine in 1944. Following a short period of surgical training, he moved into what was then called therapeutic radiology and received his DMRT in 1951. This began a long and distinguished career in cancer care that spanned six decades. In 1953 he emigrated to Canada to take up a position at the newly established Ottawa Clinic of the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, and in this respect he was one of the founders of modern radiotherapy in Canada. In 1983 he was appointed Director of the Ottawa Clinic, a position he held until his retirement in 1988. Gordon was a tireless worker, and even after his official "retirement", he continued to see patients and to consult for the federal and provincial government on matters relating to the provision of radiation services in Canada for several more years. Gordon strongly believed in the value of modern radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer and was a major proponent of developing Radiation Oncology as a professional entity independent of Diagnostic Radiology, where it had traditionally resided. He was the last Radiation Oncologist to be Vice President of the Canadian Association of Radiologists, and he helped to oversee the transition of Canadian Radiation Oncologists into their own independent professional organization in 1988. He was constantly on the look-out for promising young medical graduates to recruit into the profession. His position as Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa afforded him many recruitment opportunities and he even managed to convince his two eldest children to follow him into academic Radiation Oncology. Gordon was physician, researcher, teacher, mentor, and cancer care leader for thousands of people over his lifetime. His contribution to the development of cancer care in Ontario was substantial, and he will be remembered fondly by former patients, students and colleagues alike. A private funeral service will be held in Toronto on Thursday, May 3, 2007. A memorial service to celebrate his life and work will be held in Ottawa, June 1 2007. In lieu of flowers, donations if so desired, may be made to the Catton Clan Team of the Toronto Weekend to End Breast Cancer. http://www.endcancer.ca