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In Memory
Dr. T. Douglas Kinsella CM, BA, MD, FACP, FRCPC
Adapted with permission from a memorial tribute by Warren Kinsella, Douglas Kinsella's eldest son. Thomas Douglas Kinsella was born on February 15, 1932, in Montreal. His immediate family included his mother, Mary, his father, Jimmy, a Northern Electric employee, a younger sister, Juanita, and an older brother, Howard. When he was very young, Douglas was beset by rheumatic fever, and in conquering that illness, he was left with a burning desire to be a doctor. Following a Jesuit education at Loyola High School in Montreal, he enrolled at Loyola College and joined the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. In June 1955, midway through his medical studies at McGill University, Douglas and Lorna wed at Loyola Chapel. Douglas and Lorna were blessed with 3 sons, Warren, Kevin, and Lorne. After a clinical fellowship in Rheumatology at the Royal Victoria Hospital, he moved to Dallas to pursue a research fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Morris Ziff. In 1968, Douglas and his family returned to Canada, where he was appointed to Assistant Professorship of Medicine at Queen's University. In 1975, after a brief return to Montreal and a professorship at McGill, he moved to Calgary, where he was appointed Professor of Medicine, and took up the challenge of building an academic rheumatic disease unit at the Calgary General Hospital. In that setting, he established a credible basic and clinical research unit that explored the link between infectious agents and spondyloarthropathies. At the University of Calgary and at the Foothills Medical Centre, Douglas achieved international distinction for his work in rheumatology and immunology; he later established the Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board and was champion of health ethics and the dignity of human life at a national and international level. One of his recent publications in The Journal characterized his interest in biomedical ethics1. He served as President of the Canadian Rheumatology Association from 1976 to 1978. His commitment to ethics and healing resulted in being named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1995. In 2000, Douglas retired from the University of Calgary and with his wife Lorna selected their retirement home in Kingston. It was at Kingston General Hospital — in the very place where Douglas saved so many lives — that his own life would come to a painless end in the early hours of June 15, 2004, felled by a fast-moving lung cancer. In his final strides to the finish line, Douglas echoed a spirit of hope and firmly but politely declined offers of special treatment — or even a room with a nicer view of Lake Ontario. There was much to admire about Douglas: a friend, colleague, and physician. He was a mentor to over 15 clinical and research rheumatologists who emulated his love of Rheumatology and respect for their patients. In the minds and hearts of the patients whose lives he saved or bettered over the course of a half-century of healing, his compassion serves as a benchmark for other physicians. Canada and Rheumatology worldwide have suffered a great loss. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Lorna, their 3 sons, and to their extended family.
MARVIN J. FRITZLER, MD, PhD,
Professor of Medicine and Chair,
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