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ARTHUR RODNEY (ROD) THORFINNSON
Born: Nov 30, 1934
Date of Passing: Jan 17, 2020
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ARTHUR RODNEY (ROD) THORFINNSON
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Kathleen (Kay); his three children, LeAnne (Tony) of Oakville, Mike (Sylvia) of Oakville, and Doug (Corrie) of Carleton Place; and five grandchildren, Eric, Sara, Mark, Nathan and Tyler. He is also survived by his sisters, Carmelle (Sam) of Melbourne, Australia, and Shari of Vancouver; as well many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Rod was born in the hamlet of Kandahar, Saskatchewan, on November 30, 1934, and spent his childhood in the town of Wynyard. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Arts program at the University of Saskatchewan, eventually switching majors to Business. During this time, he married Kay and they moved to Toronto, where he completed a masters degree in Hospital Administration. He worked for three years in Saskatchewan, and then he and Kay moved to London, ON in 1965, where he eventually became the CEO of Victoria Hospital until 1985. They then moved to Winnipeg, where he was CEO of the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre for 15 years. In the fall of 2000, Rod retired, and he and Kay moved to Owen Sound. It was not long before he was called out of retirement in 2002, to become the interim CEO at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto for a year.
Rod will be remembered for his quiet faith, sense of humour, love of cooking and music, as well as his exceptional woodworking skills. He earned his pilot's licence and flew his own plane, but mostly loved hunting. He drove his boat for his family of water-skiers at their cottages in Muskoka and Lake of the Woods, enjoyed tennis, golf, and his annual 'wade' in the lake. His work afforded him opportunities to travel the world, and in his retirement Rod was very involved in many volunteer activities in Owen Sound. Most of all, he was a proud father and granddad, and loved spending time with his family.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Trillium Health Partners - Mississauga site, where he received excellent care in his final days https://trilliumgiving.ca.
A Celebration of Life service for Rod will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., at the Glen Oaks Funeral Home, 3164 Ninth Line, Oakville (Ninth Line and Dundas Street East). Visitation will be held one hour prior (from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.)
This obituary may also be found at www.glenoaks.ca.
Rod lived a full life and we have the assurance that he is now in heaven, celebrating with his family and friends who have gone before him.
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 28, 2020
Condolences & Memories (2 entries)
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Dear Kay, We were so sorry to see that Rod passed away. Wayne maintains that he was a great leader at the Health Sciences Centre who was such a pleasure to work for and with. He did not suffer fools and you had to be at the top of your game at all times. Having said that, Rod was always very supportive of the role of the Human Resources function believing that an organization's greatest assets were its people. He had a terrific sense of humour, was a great listener and a constant source of encouragement despite the many and varied pressures evident in health care administration. He also loved a good time which both Dawn and I enjoyed on many occasions. - Posted by: Wayne and Dawn Byron (colleague) on: Jan 29, 2020
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Kay and family I am sorry to read of Rod's passing. I worked for him at the Health Sciences Centre as the receptionist for the office. I enjoyed my time working for him. We had a very different type of working relationship. I would always make sure he had his tea waiting for him in the morning so he would not be inclined to have coffee which he was not supposed to have. We shared many a laugh over this as he would try to sneak a cup of coffee and I would get after him for it. Rod was a pleasure to work for, and he was a kind gentleman. - Posted by: Bernie Smith (Former staff) on: Jan 28, 2020