January 16, 2021
Dennis Julian Stern was born in London, England in 1935, the only child of Benjamin and Theresa Stern (nee Finklestein). He died peacefully and well-cared for in the palliative care unit of West Parry Sound Health Centre in Parry Sound, Ontario on January 16th, 2021.
He was proudly born in the sound of Bow Bells which he always said made him a true Cockney. He was a beautiful child with chubby cheeks and thick dark curly hair but was born into a time of encroaching war and anti-Semitism. Like many children, he was evacuated at age 7, during the Blitz from London to the countryside – an event that he never wanted to disclose much about.
As a young man, he was smart, athletic and adventurous – and after the war travelled through Europe where his love affair with France started. He was one of the small quota of Jewish students admitted into the University of London, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine where he successfully graduated from in 1962. He remained close through the years with his fellow graduates, attending as many of their class reunions as he could.
After graduation, he was faced with mandatory conscription and had to choose between the RAF in England, or to join the Armed Forces in either Canada or Australia. He had a friend who had come to Canada and so the decision was made. He moved with his first wife to Canada and embarked upon a 5-year stint with the RCAF as a flight surgeon and base physician. His final move to Rivers, Manitoba was where his two children were born. He left the RCAF in 1968 and moved to the small Ontario town of Parry Sound where he practiced family medicine for 47 years.
He practiced true family medicine – care from the cradle to grave to generations of Parry Sounders. He got up in the middle of the night to do house calls, he delivered many babies – and then the babies of those babies, he acted as anesthetist, as coroner, and took on a number of medical students under his wing. He also served temporarily as the Medical Officer of Health for Parry Sound/Muskoka in 1995, during SARS. He ended his practice at the Lakeland Long-Term Care facility where he jokingly stated he was working with people the same age and disposition as he was!
He was a dedicated and loyal physician – he was stubborn, tough and opinionated and did not suffer fools gladly. He pissed off many nurses and patients along the way – but he deeply cared about his work and was committed to caring for others. He especially loved the work that he did with the peoples and community of Wasauksing First Nations, and his locums in Iqaluit.
Outside of his work – he was a true hedonist and intellectual – he loved the best of everything. He immersed himself in history and reading, gardening, doing cryptic crosswords (he was a whiz), and music. He enjoyed being the consummate ‘host’ to others in his home. He was passionate about good food and wine (he has an enviable wine cellar), and when he finally retired, he became an accomplished cook. His home was filled with beautiful Inuit and Indigenous Canadian art which he spent years collecting and cherishing. He travelled the world with his wife Brenda – most notably to his beloved France – but he was also drawn to and loved Georgian Bay upon whose shores his home rested.
He leaves behind his devoted and loving wife of 42 years, Brenda; his canine companion Tosca; his daughter Louise Stern (Tony Jarvis), and his grand-daughter Ruby Theresa Jarvis of Gabriola, B.C; his daughter-in-law Heather Stern, and his grandsons Ryan Benjamin Stern and Alexander Matthew Stern of St. Thomas, Ontario. He was pre-deceased by his beloved son Matthew David Stern who he loved and missed dearly.
The family wishes to thank the thoughtful and loving care he received during this last hospitalization – especially to Dr. T.J. Fargher and the nursing staff of the West Parry Sound Health Centre.
At his request, there will be no funeral. A celebration of life will be planned in the future when we are all able to meet and be together.
As expressions of sympathy, donations to the West Parry Sound Health Centre would be appreciated.
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He was the best of the best… and he will be missed so very much. He was my doctor for a number of years, prior to his retirement. I absolutely adored him due to his intelligence and kindness in the medical field. May he rest in peace.
-Beverlee Brown
January 16 2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de DENNIS STERN January 16 2021..
Décès pour la Ville:Parry-Sound, Province: Ontario