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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
DONALDSON, John, MD - pediatric otolaryngologist, Lee County healthcare leader, veteran, world-traveler, gleeful *$#@-stirrer, prodigious nick-name-giver, father, grandfather, mentor, and loyal friend died 19 September 2021 in Fort Myers, Florida, at 77 years old.
John was born in Saskatoon, Canada, on 8 June, 1944 where he came from a long line of Scots (Clan McLeod), Welsh, and Englishmen. When asked by his daughter if the family had any famous ancestors, his response was "only scoundrels and horse thieves."
As a child, John attended Victoria School and Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon, and enjoyed holidays fishing on Jackfish Lake in Meota, Saskatchewan. John, like most Canadian children, played hockey. He joined the Canadian Navy Sea Cadets in high school as part of the HMCS Unicorn.
John served many roles in the Royal Canadian Navy throughout his formal education and after: Seaman, UNTD (Canadian version of ROTC) Cadet, Communications Officer, and eventually Surgeon Lieutenant. He graduated from the Saskatchewan College of Medicine in 1970, and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, after his marriage to Marlene Rawlings.
John loved the Canadian Maritimes, purchasing with Marlene in 1971, a former marine smallpox hospital that had been converted to a cottage. He claimed that they were driving the backroads of Nova Scotia looking for a dining room set and, for the same price, returned with a cottage. John and his navy buddies spent weekends doing repairs there. For the first 20+ years, the verandas were (purloined) navy-ship grey. After one of his shipmates borrowed the cottage for the weekend, in a well-executed joke, John returned to find the exterior trim and several pieces of furniture painted bright purple. He loved it. The cottage was his happy puttering place: there were always repairs to make, roofs to re-shingle, sheds to build, trees to trim, fuse boxes to inelegantly rewire, racoons to outsmart, and soduku puzzles to correct. If he was cursing about how the project was going, life was good.
John was one of North America's earliest sub-specialist-trained pediatric otolaryngologists (Ear, Nose, and Throat). He trained at University of Pittsburgh, one of only two fellowship programs at the time. Following his training, he practiced for 50+ years in Decatur, Illinois; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Fort Myers. He was a well-regarded specialist and surgeon, known for his Winnie the Pooh ties and immediately putting children of all ages at ease with a silly joke or a goofy noise that magically came out of his stethoscope. He carried his youngest patients into surgery rather than allowing them to be wheeled in on a gurney.
Teaching and mentoring brought John great joy. In Halifax, he was a professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Dalhousie University and the Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital. Doctors and nurses there and at other hospitals remember him for always pushing for what is best for his patients and their parents, administrators be damned, and sometimes operating to bagpipe music. After moving to SW Florida in 1990, he continued teaching in a less formal role, mentoring and supporting many young health care providers as they sought advanced degrees or greater expertise. He took great pride in their accomplishments. He too was ever a learner, and appreciated others with innate curiosity and a willingness to debate. Ever passionate about his work, patients, and colleagues -- and despite COVID -- he practiced until a month before his death. As his health declined in later months, he stopped doing surgeries, but continued to mentor younger surgeons in the operating room.
John served as a board member and then Chair of the Lee Memorial Health System. Under John's leadership, significant strides were made in the quality of healthcare delivery. He also initiated the medical residency program, and was the chairman when the decision was made to purchase Gulfcoast Hospital. Besides his hospital service, it was common for SW Floridians to say "Dr. Donaldson treated my child!" His colleagues estimate that he operated on over 18,000 children during his 30+ years of practice in Lee County. He kept bulletin boards of photos and notes sent by his patients and their parents.
In his later years, John found happiness with Joy Thomas and "his zoo": five dogs, three cats, and a macaw named Chicken, most of them rescues. He is predeceased by her.
John is survived by his daughter Krista Donaldson (Oliver Fringer), his granddaughter Avery and grandson Ryker Fringer of San Francisco, California; his sister Diane Dalzell (John) of Saskatoon and nephews Matthew (Kerrie) of Saskatoon and David (Amanda) of Saanichton, British Columbia.
His family requests that in lieu of gifts, donations be made to Shearwater Aviation Museum Foundation of Nova Scotia, Canada. As a young medical officer, he served at CFB Shearwater and, later in life, was an avid supporter of the museum. (newpress.com 12 Oct 2021)
Ships served in: HMCS UNICORN - Served in UNICORN for UNTD HMCS PRESERVER - Served in PRESERVER 1971-1972 as Medical Officer
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