Dr. Michael Tibbetts, beloved husband, father and grandfather passed away at Victoria General Hospital on September 8th, 2017 survived by his wife Jean of 56 years, daughter Peta, grandchildren Liam and Regan, son Stephen and daughter-in-law Susan.
Mike was born in the Black Country, the industrial area south of Birmingham, in England. Both his father and grandfather had been general practitioners in this region.
He went away to boarding school before his sixth birthday and by the time he was eight years old, he knew he wanted to be a doctor. After boarding school, he went to Cheltenham College and then, at the age of 16, he went on to King’s College, London to commence his medical training. He qualified M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. before his 23rd birthday and subsequently obtained his M.B., B.S. and diplomas in both obstetrics and anaesthesia.
After qualifying, he went into the army and did his National Service in Kenya, Aden and Cyprus, in which countries he was the Regimental Medical Officer attached to several units that were engaged in fighting different terrorist organisations; he was awarded the Kenya and Cyprus medals. Returning to England in 1956, he did additional training in obstetrics and anaesthesia before entering general practice in Stourport, Worcestershire in 1958. There he remained for eight years, combining his practice with anaesthesia at Kidderminster Hospital.
In 1960, he had the extraordinary good fortune to meet Jean Powell and they were married in 1961. They had two children, Peta and Stephen and in 1966, the family immigrated to Canada, where after further training in anaesthesia in Edmonton he went into practice in Leduc, Alberta. He continued to combine his general practice with anaesthesia and he also obtained the L.M.C.C. which was the Canadian qualifying exam. The Tibbetts family moved to Victoria in 1974, where Mike continued to work as a G.P/anaesthetist at the newly completed Saanich Peninsula Hospital. He incorporated hypnotherapy into his practice and was a member of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and used hypnotherapy in his practice for many years. He retired from his general practice in 1996.
He retired from hospital anaesthetics in 1991 and commenced a new line of work which was procedural sedation in dental offices in the vicinity of Victoria, and he would continue this work until 2011. He was well respected by his peers in the medical community of Victoria and loved all aspects of his work.
Mike loved, above all, his wife, his children and his grandchildren. He was very active physically all his life playing rugby as a young man and moving on to tennis and squash in later years. After the age of 60, he swam on a regular basis.
We would like to thank all the nurses and doctors at the Victoria General Hospital in the Emergency Room, ICU and 6 South who looked after him so beautifully.
Mike’s Celebration of Life will be on Wednesday, 11th October, 2017 at 1:00 pm in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, Royal Oak, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria.
No flowers please – donations to The MS Society of Victoria.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
14 Responses
Dear Mrs. Tibbetts and Family,
I was saddened to read of the passing of your dear Michael. I have very fond memories of him, as do my parents, Les & Rose Vivian, as did my dear grandmother, Maude Mair, who were all lucky enough to have him as their family doctor for many, many years. I, also, had the pleasure of knowing “Dr.T”, while working as a dental assistant for Dr. David Ward DDS, where Dr. Tibbetts would come in regularly to do IV sedations. He was always so kind, gentle and professional with our patients, and just lovely to work with, and chat with while in our office. He always spoke of his family with much love and pride. We’ll all remember Dr. Tibbetts as a brilliant doctor and a true gentleman.
Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this most difficult time.
With Sincere Sympathy, Holly Horne (nee Vivian), & Les & Rose Vivian
Dear Jean and family ,
Charles and I were very sad to hear of Mike’s death .
We shall remember him particularly by our pool-side,afternoons in the sun and his great story telling.
I always admired him taking jazz piano lessons too !
Our sincere sympathy to you and the family , Janet
Dear Jean & Family,
My deepest condolences on the passing of Dr. T. I found him to be a warm and compassionate practitioner and a most respectful employer.
Kindest regards,
Jan
Dear Jean
So sorry to read about Mike but such a wonderful tribute to his very full life. You and Mike were so kind meeting for many lunches when Doug was ill. Doug had high praise for Mike when he made dental appointments calmer for several patients. I will remember Mike’s wonderful sense of humour. He will be missed. Thinking of you at this sad time.
Hugs,
Cheryle Watson