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DR. JAMES RODNEY LEDWICH
Date of Passing: Feb 27, 2025
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or MemoryDR. JAMES RODNEY LEDWICH
We are sad to announce the passing of James Rodney Ledwich (Rod), 92, who died peacefully at home in Winnipeg on February 27, 2025.
Rod was surrounded by family in the final days and hours of his life, and we feel very blessed to have had this time to comfort him, express our deep love for him and say our goodbyes. It's impossible to find the words to describe how special he was to us. He had a quiet, gentle, caring soul that was the glue of our family.
Rod was born in 1932 in Glossop, England to father James Ledwich and mother Clara Ledwich (nee Harrop). He married his beloved wife Ann (nee Hutton) in 1957, who still lives at the Winnipeg home they bought in 1973.
After attending Kingsmoor School in Glossop, Rod graduated from the Victoria University of Manchester in 1956 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.
He practiced as a Cardiologist at the Manitoba Clinic from 1969 to 2000. He also worked out of various other Winnipeg hospitals and was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Manitoba.
Rod was much loved by his patients, students and co-workers. Gift baskets from appreciative patients were a frequent sight in our home, and it was common for our family, even long after his retirement, to have staff at hospitals recognize our last name and enthusiastically express their love and appreciation for Rod.
He loved music, history (he achieved his BA in 2000), books, swimming, and all things Britain (don't you know it's hard to find a properly made cup of tea or "real ale" in Canada?). He also had a strong sense of social justice. Rod spent countless hours volunteering for Amnesty International, sending telegrams, faxes and letters to people with power around the globe to demand the release of the unjustly detained and an end to human rights abuses and the death penalty. Rod also wrote on issues of peace and human rights and published many letters and articles.
Rod is survived by his wife Ann; children, Jane Pogson (David), Susan, Chris and Sean; grandchildren, Sarah Pogson and Chris (Torrence) and great-grandchildren, Maya Pogson (Cully), Hudson and Thatcher.
As per his wishes, Rod's body was donated to the University of Manitoba for medical education. The family would like to thank the staff of Comforts of Home Care, many of whom became very close to Rod during their time providing care to him and also deeply feel his loss.
Anyone wishing to honour Rod may do so with a donation to Amnesty International Canada.
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 08, 2025
Condolences & Memories (8 entries)
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Fond memories of our meetings at Amnesty International. He was always the voice of reason. Later chats at the Harvey Smith Library. - Posted by: Ron Robinson (Acquaintance) on: Mar 23, 2025
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Thank you for all the beautiful memories. They are healing for his family. - Posted by: Sean Ledwich (Son) on: Mar 19, 2025
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Rod was such a kind and thoughtful person, with a gentle sense of humour and a willingness to do what needed to be done to make good things happen. I worked on many Amnesty International campaigns with Rod and Ann and both admired them and enjoyed their company. My sympathy to the family. - Posted by: Sheila Bogoch (Friend) on: Mar 16, 2025
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Dear Jane & family, Heartfelt condolences on the loss of your father. Thinking of you during this difficult time. May your happy memories give you peace and comfort during this challenging time. Sending you much love.❤️ Kathy - Posted by: Kathy Humphreys (Friend) on: Mar 10, 2025
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Dr. Rod, how I always called him when each time I saw him sitting outside his deck accompanied by Ann, his family or homecare staff in the backyard and he would respond with a smile and curious eyes about what I said and would ask me how my day was. One time he let me use his stethoscope to assess his wife's lungs and I looked at his ancient stethoscope, I scratched my head, was this a real thing? I hesitated to use it but it worked. I told him that I had never seen an stethoscope like this and he laughed, he said he used it when he was in England. It was my nursing memory about him. Last memory of him was when I visited him a few days prior his passing I was offered something to drink by the family and I asked for a beer, Dr. Rod looked at me in his bed with a smile "Beer?" as I remembered he offered me one of his dark ole beer one time during the visit and I denied it at that time. So in last visit we drank a little bit together I gave him a few teaspoon of beer as he wanted some. It was a peaceful and precious moment. Thank you for being who you are. - Posted by: Sylvia Radovanovic (Neighbor) on: Mar 10, 2025
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My condolences to the family, was always a pleasure when he came to do rounds. - Posted by: Harriet Branker (Co worker at St Boniface Hospital) on: Mar 10, 2025
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My deepest sympathy on the passing of Dr. Ledwich. I had the honour of working with him at St. Boniface Hospital when our Physiotherapy department had the Out-patient Cardiac Rehab program. He was a fantastic support and resource for our program and I know that I enjoyed working with him very much. I learned so much from him about Cardiac issues as well as other medical issues and deeply appreciated the support and respect he showed for all staff. In addition, I appreciated his dry British humour and his wealth of knowledge of history and recall many times when he would try to test our knowledge of unusual English words and their meanings. We were sad when he retired but I am happy he was able to enjoy a long retirement with his wife and family. My condolences to all of you. - Posted by: Eva Matthew (Former co-worker) on: Mar 09, 2025
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My Deepest Sympathy to Jane and Family in the Loss of your Father. He will always be in your heart. Sincerely Linda Bakowski - Posted by: Linda Bakowski (Friend) on: Mar 08, 2025