Obituary of Dr. Donald S. Beanlands

On Aug 29, 2024, in Ottawa, Ontario, Dr. Donald Stewart Beanlands, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 91.

Don is survived by his loving wife (Rhona Rowdon-Beanlands; his children: Rob (Geneviève Moineau), Heather (Daniel Cattran), Bruce (Holly Ananny) and Ian; his beloved grandchildren: Angela (Geordie Wright), Nolan (Meghan Yuen), Sarah, Joshua (Lauren Doty), Rachelle (Lianne Berne), and Hannah; and his 6 great-grandchildren. 

Son of Stewart Beanlands and Francis Hubley, he was born in 1932 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. With brothers Leslie and David and his late sister Betty-Lou, he grew up in a home that valued family, generosity, audacity, honesty, a sense of humour and hard work, traits he carried with him throughout his life.  

In Halifax he served in the Canadian Naval Reserve. Following medical school at Dalhousie University, he and his family moved to Toronto where he trained at Sunnybrook Hospital to be a cardiologist. He later became Chief of Cardiology at the Toronto Western Hospital. 

In 1975, he and his family moved to Ottawa where he co-founded the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and was its first Chief of Cardiology.  He was also its Deputy Director General until his retirement in 2008.  Through his leadership and commitment to his patients and their families, his trainees who now practice across Canada and around the world, and the staff who respected him, it has been said that ‘he changed the practice of medicine and cardiology in Ottawa and Canada forever’.  His legacy will always be carried in the hearts of those for whom he cared, and those he mentored and guided. 

Most of all, Don enjoyed spending time with family.  He also loved camping trips, fishing especially for salmon on the Eagle and other Canadian rivers, a good joke or row, cheering for the Senators, or a book on the dock at Lac St. Sixte.

While his achievements in cardiology, patient care, teaching, and the special ethos he created, will all have lasting impact, what people will remember most is his kindness and that he truly cared for and respected every individual for who they are. We know he will continue to encourage and guide us.

The family expresses its deep gratitude to the entire Promenade Retirement Residence team, the Nurse Next Door staff and his other healthcare providers for the kind and compassionate care in his later years. 

Visitation will be held at the Pinecrest Visitation Centre, 2500 Baseline Road, Ottawa on Friday, September 6, 2024 from    1 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. The family will hold a separate private interment. A Celebration of Life honoring Dr. Don Beanlands will be held in the coming weeks. Details will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation.  

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