October 10, 1927 – July 11, 2024
Walter Jones Hannah was born and raised in St. Catharines, Ont., the son of Walter David and Florence May (Jones). He was the youngest of four children and was predeceased by his sisters Dorothy Dodington and Beverly Fear, and his brother, Bob Hannah.
Walter passed away peacefully at home at the age of 96, surrounded by his family. He will be profoundly missed by his wife, Mary Elizabeth, whom he adored, and by his children Paul, Barbara (Gwen), Robin, David (Michelle) and John (Tesni) and his grandchildren Leigh, Laurie, David, Robbie, Lindsay, Liam, Emily, Jake, and Ben, all of whom he loved very much. Walter will be greatly missed by his many nieces and nephews and all of Mary’s family, who treasured their favourite brother-in-law, uncle and great-uncle. Walter was predeceased by his first wife, Patricia, who was the mother of his children.
Walter entered the naval officer training program at Royal Roads in Esquimalt, B.C., in 1944, just short of his 17th birthday. He remained in the navy afterward as a midshipman, serving on the cruiser HMCS Uganda.
He began his medical school training in 1947 at the University of Western Ontario. Afterward, Walter began a family practice in Milton, Ont., with his lifelong friend and colleague, Dr. Andrew Hunter.
He undertook postgraduate medical training in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Toronto, receiving his FRCSC in 1960. He joined the staff of Women’s College Hospital and the faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto. He became chief of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Women’s College Hospital in 1966 and at Toronto General Hospital in 1990.
He was promoted to full professor at the University of Toronto in 1973. Walter served as chair of the University of Toronto department of obstetrics and gynecology from 1981 to 1992. Walter was recognized as an excellent clinician and was devoted to teaching clinical medicine to undergraduates and postgraduates. In later years, he provided important contributions to collaborative clinical research trials.
Walter loved the outdoors, especially in the Canadian Shield. He enjoyed walking, hiking, swimming, canoeing, sailing, tennis, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. He spent many memorable years at his cottage on Little Lake Joseph, and later at Slipper Lake in the Algonquin Highlands. He was enormously proud of his wood piles, having felled his own trees and split his own wood. He loved classical music, reading, a good conversation about ideas and philosophy, a good martini and fine wine. He had a wide circle of friends and colleagues. He especially enjoyed his retirement years, living in his beloved Muskoka.
In lieu of flowers, friends wishing to make contributions in memory of Walter may do so to Médecins Sans Frontières or to the Dr. Walter J. Hannah / Genesis Research Foundation Clinician Scientist Award in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Toronto.