DR. JAMES EATON BEVERIDGE

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DR. JAMES EATON BEVERIDGE

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Dr. James Eaton Beveridge (age 77) on November 24, 2024, at his home in Kenora, Ontario. Born in London, Ontario on March 10, 1947, he was the eldest son of the late Dr. James M.R. Beveridge and Jean (Eaton) Beveridge.

He was predeceased by his son, Jamie and older sister, Catherine (Katz). Jim grew up in Kingston, Ontario. He attended Acadia University where he excelled as a student and an athlete in football and hockey. After graduation, he completed his M.D. at Queen’s Medical School while playing varsity hockey for the Golden Gaels.

After completing medical school (Queens 1971) he did a rotating internship at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC. He accepted what was supposed to be a temporary appointment in Kenora, Ontario in 1972. Jim fell in love with Lake of the Woods and became a vital part of the medical and social community.

During his decades of practice at Lake of the Woods Hospital and the Paterson Medical Centre, Jim shaped the medical community and continuously pushed all his colleagues to be the very best and most dedicated they could be. He considered family medicine to be a calling and was ‘on call’ for decades day or night for his patients and the medical community despite no pay or contract. He provided full-service family medicine including inpatient hospital work, emergency medicine, obstetrics, oncology, palliative care and surgeries. He dedicated his life to providing care for each and every one of his patients, making house calls, delivering babies, healing and guiding families through life and death. He was known for delivering thousands of babies, including multiple generations of families, and worked closely with the midwifery team; if anyone asked for suggestions for baby names, he would say ‘James is an excellent choice’! He had various formal leadership roles over the years including Chief of Staff but was always a mentor and teacher to medical students, residents, and colleagues. Over the course of his career, Jim was involved in the chemotherapy program and was instrumental in establishing palliative care at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital. He could often be found doing hospital rounds with one of his golden retriever dogs for ‘therapeutic’ reasons.

Jim also had special relationships with the First Nations Communities, establishing links and ties early on, even before there was a pathway or a formalized way to do things. He simply spoke to people, found out how he could help, and gave things a shot. His work helped forge the way toward health equity that we are still struggling to achieve today.

Despite many personal health problems, he remained in active practice until his reluctant retirement in 2018, a mere 46 years after his arrival. Even in retirement, many patients would come by his house for informal advice from ‘Dr. B.’ and former colleagues continued to call him to discuss complicated cases. His expertise and memory did not slip even in the week before his death. He never stopped caring for and about people, leaving important and indelible imprints on his extended family and the community. It is felt that his career marks ‘the end of an era’.

Jim pursued many activities and hobbies, including masters swimming, squash, sailing, fishing, golfing, and duplicate bridge. He was a founding member of the ‘breakfast club’ and enjoyed bringing new and old friends together in the community with his dry but witty sense of humour. He loved to explore Lake of the Woods in his wooden boat, drive around town in his antique Austin-Healey, watch local wildlife such as deer, birds, foxes and raccoons from his home, and spend precious time off relaxing at his remote cottage in Sioux Narrows. He enjoyed visits to his ‘den’ from friends, colleagues, and neighbourhood children. In later years, his health slowed him down, but never his competitive spirit and love of family and community.

Jim is survived by his wife of 44 years, Geri (Bellefeuille), children, Tonya (Doug Yaholkoski), Alexis (David McCutchon), Julia (Travis Cunningham), and Hannah (Graham Busch); grandchildren, Morgan, Darcy, Ronan, Duncan, Ewan, and Madeline. Jim is also survived by his first wife, Nancy Caldwell-Dailey, and siblings, Sandy, Bob (Bea), Duncan (Margo), Bill, and Betsy (Kim) and 22 nieces and nephews, who came to know Jim fondly as “U.J.”

His family would like to acknowledge the incredible medical community that supported him with his health conditions, and in particular Dr. Murray Workman and the paramedics who attended his house on the day of his death.

A gathering in memory and celebration of his life will be held in June 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

Dr. Jim Beveridge Kenora Community Hospice Fund, donations can be made online: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/40267 by etransfer to: info@klwcf.ca or by cheque to: Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation, Box 441, Kenora, ON P9N 3X4

Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation, donations can be made online: https://lwdhf.com/donate/ or by calling: 807-468-9861 ext. 2469.

Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Centre Entrusted with Arrangements

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 07, 2024