It is with immeasurable sadness that we announce the sudden and tragic passing of Dr. Dennis Morgan on January 8, 2015. The eldest of six children, he was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland on September 10, 1956. After graduating medical school and training as a cardiologist, he settled in Victoria, British Columbia with his wife Cheryl, where they raised four beautiful children.
Dennis was predeceased by his mother Susanna, his father Harold and his brother Elvis. He leaves to mourn his wife of 34 years Cheryl (Smith), daughters Kristy (Harrison Wolfe), Erin (Chris Manson), Natalie (Stephen Hextall), and son Brendan (Chelsea McMenamie), as well as grandsons Kane and Maverick Wolfe. In Newfoundland, his surviving siblings are Harold (Cindy), Roxanne (Larry), Suzanne and Kim (Marcel).
A long time member of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, he loved being near the ocean and spending time with his family in Lake Cowichan, where he fostered his love of boating and fishing.
There will be a public memorial service for Dennis at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday, January 17th, 2015 at 12 o’clock noon, followed by a celebration of life at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club for family and friends. Light refreshments will be served. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Canadian Mental Health Association or, locally, Our Place Society.
He will be dearly missed by friends and family from around the world, particularly those in Victoria and St. John’s.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Bros. Funeral Home
www.mccallbros.com
129 Responses
My heartfelt condolences. I will truly miss our east coast chats and his patience with my cardiology questions. Truly one in a billion.
Dear Brendan and family,
What a tragic loss for you and your family. Joe was very moved by the service at Christ church cathedral. Thinking of you at such a difficult time…love, Barb
dr. morgan was my doctor and he was the best doctor that I ever had. I have so appreciated him and will miss him very much. he was awesome.
So sorry to hear about Dennis. We had such fun times together growing up. I am sure we will both cherish the memories we have of him. Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers.
To Dennis’ family, near and far, my very deepest condolences.
Dennis was my cardiologist for the past 17-years. The first time I met him he commented that we were of similar age and proceeded to tell me I should call him Dennis. My first impression was that he was a personable guy but I did not read much more than that into our interaction. Some months later, long after most busy physicians would have forgotten an initial consult, I met Dennis downtown and, to my great surprise, he called me by name. At that moment I knew Dennis was more than merely personable. Over time it became abundantly clear that Dennis was a gifted man pursuing a calling in a manner that few achieve.
I saw Dennis once or twice a year and I think we spent as much time talking about matters non-cardiac as cardiac. I learned that we both hailed from the east cost (different Islands), had both lost our accents (the loss of his being more surprising than the loss of mine); I heard about his hobbies, some of his medical frustrations and, frequently about his family. Family was a particularly consistent theme and his affection for and pride in his family was almost palpable. When I first became a parent Dennis repeatedly told me it would be the best thing that would ever happen to me. It was clear that his conviction was rooted in his own family.
In reflecting on my interaction with Dennis I was a little shocked to realize that I probably have spent a maximum of 6-10 hours with Dennis. It may be presumptuous to characterize someone with whom one has spent so little time a friend but the only apt description for my relationship with Dennis is to say I always felt I was in the care of a friend.
For his family…I pray fervently that you will soon find solace in your memories of Dennis and that those memories will not in any way be overshadowed by the unanswerable questions which sometimes accompany death.
Dennis was a gift for a lot of people…eternal rest grant unto him O’Lord and may perpetual light shine upon him.
I knew Dennis growing up..He was different.
I knew he’d go far and he did.My heartfelt condolences to Cheryl and the family..
Sending condolences to you all during this tragic time! Thinking about all of you and hoping that you get through this tough time with the love and support of all your family and friends. Hold all your memories close and remember all the beautiful moments you all shared together! Take care!
My family and I cannot begin to tell you how much we appreciated and respected Dr. Morgan. He had a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, a caring and respectful manner with my mother and infinite patience with her physical challenges. He was a brilliant chemist who knew exactly how to balance all the meds she needs to take for her congestive heart failure. And most of all he took the time to listen to her. The last time we saw him my mother thanked him for keeping her alive and we all had tears in our eyes.
What a great loss to our health community in Victoria!!!
To you, his family, we offer our deepest sympathy.
Many Blessings
Sabina Pettitt for Lilian Davies and Family
I met Dennis many years ago when he was an internal medicine resident and I was an intern assigned to the “Cardiology A” (as opposed to the other service, “Cardiology B”) at Kingston General Hospital. This service was notorious amongst the house staff as being the most demanding, stressful, and therefore the most dreaded, of any service at the medical school. Yet it was a very successful rotation for me and it became the highlight of that year, in large part because of Dennis. Despite my inexperience as such a junior trainee, because of a one in three call schedule, I had to be the third “resident” with the daunting job of being in charge of cardiology, CCU and the code team every third night. Dennis ‘ confidence in me and his encouragement helped me thrive rather than just survive that experience. We moved on to different places and specialties, then crossed paths again when we each landed in Victoria. As we met in the halls of RJH in the course of our work, his smile and “Hi Anne” took me back to those magical days and gave me a boost of confidence even so many years later. Victoria was lucky to have him and I was privileged to have known him. Somehow the hospital seems a little less friendly now. Condolences to the family.
Anne Webster
We are sending our condolences to the Morgan family. Dennis did his best to help me very quickly and saved my life. Tom and Faye Bligh and family.