Roy Arden Sutherland, BASc, MD

Roy A. Sutherland passed away peacefully in Victoria, BC on July 14, 2013, at the age of 90. He leaves to remember him with abiding love his wife Lois of 59 years; children Dawn (Malcolm), Ian (Wendy), Heather and John (Katherine); and beloved grandchildren Lauren, Robin and Ana and brother Loyd, sister Vivian. He was predeceased in 2012 by brother Earl. Roy will be remembered by many as a man who turned his hand to many things and experienced four careers during “a satisfying life in the most fascinating age of mankind in a rare and beautiful country”.

Roy was born in Winnipeg on June 23, 1923, a fifth-generation descendant of the Red River Selkirk Settlers of 1812, the first Western Canadian colonists. After his early years on a prairie farm, Roy’s family moved to Peachland in the Okanagan, where he looked forward to going to school – three rooms for twelve grades – as a break from doing chores! While still teenagers, Roy and his younger brother Earl planted 20 acres of orchard in Peachland that is still farmed by Earl’s family today. Roy greatly admired the grit and hardiness of his settler forbears and was proud to have been a farm boy who learned to work hard in the tough, lean years of drought and the Great Depression.

After serving as an officer in the army for three years during WW2, Roy attended UBC and graduated in Forest Engineering. The “plundering of our magnificent forests by a predatory industry” led him to leave the forest industry and after a year working for the City of Vancouver, he returned to UBC to study medicine.

Roy and Lois met in Vancouver and married in 1954, then in 1957 moved to Victoria where Roy established his practice as a family doctor and they began to raise a family that grew to four children. Roy was especially proud of his three granddaughters and he was always eager to hear about their latest accomplishments.

Roy loved medicine and greatly enjoyed the many challenges it presented. He had a special regard for his elderly patients and liked to hear their life stories. His varied medical career spanned 25 years as a general practitioner, consultant to the BC Ministry of Health, and later, for several gratifying years, acting as locum in hospitals and family practices in rural BC, the high Artic, Labrador, Newfoundland, the Caribbean, and New Zealand. Lois often joined him for these adventures.

An active man, Roy always liked to be up and doing early in the morning, whether making his hospital rounds, working in the many gardens he made over the years, fishing in local waters, constructing a cottage at their beloved East Sooke place, building a chicken coop – even on camping holidays! In 1991, Roy retired and started honing his passion for woodworking with native hardwoods. He built furniture for family and contributed his skills to the construction of the Pacific Grace sailing schooner.

Roy firmly believed in the value of working hard, wasting nothing and standing up for what was right. Always ready for a vigorous debate, he was an articulate speaker and a prolific writer of letters to the editor. He was a strong advocate for social justice and an active participant in the anti-nuclear movement, but above all, Roy’s most deeply held concern and commitment was defence of the environment.

Roy died as he had lived, true to the Sutherland Clan motto “Sans Peur” – Without Fear.

The memorial service honouring Roy’s life will be held on Friday, July 26, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. at McCall’s Downtown, Johnson & Vancouver Streets in Victoria with reception to follow. Flowers graciously declined. Contributions in Roy’s memory may be made to The David Suzuki Foundation.

McCall Bros. Funeral Home

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