Dr Ian Duncan Findlay

Issue: BCMJ, vol. 53, No. 1, January February 2011, Page 35 Obituaries
By: William J. McLaren, MBChB,

Ian Findlay was born 2 December 1923 in Cullen, Scotland. He studied medicine at Aberdeen University and graduated MBChB in 1946. After service in the RAF Medical Branch, which included stints in Ceylon and the Aden Protectorate, he came to Canada.

1923–2010
Ian Findlay was born 2 December 1923 in Cullen, Scotland. He studied medicine at Aberdeen University and graduated MBChB in 1946. After service in the RAF Medical Branch, which included stints in Ceylon and the Aden Protectorate, he came to Canada.

During his first hospital internship in Newfoundland, he caused some consternation by wearing his kilt on ward rounds. His long white coat obscured the kilt and it appeared that he had forgotten his trousers!

He moved west to Smithers, BC, where he met the love of his life, Annie, a French-born nurse. They went together to her home in the south of France. With his charm, determination, and tact they married and re­turned to Canada with his still being, and Annie yet to become, a member of the Church of Scotland. They decided, to quote Ian, “to be a wee bit daft” and go to Africa, to Nyasaland, to spend 2 years in a missionary hospital.

In 1961 they returned to Canada where Ian studied and obtained certification in public health. With this in hand and a growing young family, which ultimately included two girls and two boys, they moved to Kamloops. Ian was a popular and competent medical officer of health for Kamloops and district during the years 1962 to 1970. He kept us up-to-date with short pithy radio talks every Monday morning on current health problems.

However Ian was a man of many parts. He decided to return to general practice and joined the Irving Clinic in Kamloops in 1971. He chose to return to institutional medicine in 1978 when he joined the WCB again in Kamloops.

Ian was an excellent communicator. He attended all our medical staff meetings, and when asked to speak, he would say “I have three points.” Being of small stature he would then stand on his chair to ensure that all of us got the message.

He was a keen outdoorsman. He frequently took his family on camping expeditions into the lakes and mountains. He loved hiking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing.

He was a dedicated conservationist and played a key role in the formation of the Kenna Cartwright Park on Mount Dufferin on the southwest border of Kamloops. The city council recognized his great contribution by erecting a memorial cairn with plaque at the lookout on his favorite trail. Ian was a most kind man. What I noted especially about him was that he made time for everyone.
—William J. Mclaren, MD
Kamloops

William J. McLaren, MBChB,. Dr Ian Duncan Findlay. BCMJ, Vol. 53, No. 1, January, February, 2011, Page(s) 35 - Obituaries.


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