It is with great sadness that we announce the death of John Reginald Martin, on April 29, 2013 in Ottawa, Ontario, aged 91. He is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years Claire (née Connor), formerly of Magog, Quebec; children: Richard of Ottawa, Jennifer (Kim Cooke) of Toronto, Christopher (Dana Friend) of Morgantown, West Virginia; and grandchildren Kathleen, Charlotte, Addison, Norah, Henry, Sophia, and a large extended family.
John Martin was born on April 11, 1922 in Dublin, Ireland and moved with his family to Montreal in 1936. He graduated from Lower Canada College in 1939, from McGill University with a Bachelor of Science and a Doctor of Medicine in 1945. He completed specialty training in Rheumatology at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York and served as Director of the Arthritis Clinic at the Montreal General Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at McGill University.
In 1971, Dr. Martin left Montreal for St. John’s to accept a position as Professor of Medicine at the new medical school of Memorial University of Newfoundland, becoming the first Rheumatologist to practice in the province. Later in his career, he developed interests in Occupational Health and held a variety of leadership positions including Director of Northern Medicine and Health and Provincial Chief Occupational Medical Officer. He was instrumental in advancing Occupational Health both in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Canada and led efforts to establish the new specialty of Occupational Medicine.
Among the many distinctions in his long and productive career are Membership in the Royal College of Physicians, London, and Fellowship in both the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American College of Physicians. He served as President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA), on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and as a Member of Council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He was appointed a Lifetime Member of the NLMA in 1989, a Senior Member of the CMA in 1992 and received the Occupational and Environmental Medical Association of Canada’s Meritorious Service Award in 1996. Dr. Martin was the author of two books, Leonard Albert Miller - Public Servant in 1998 and The Fluorspar Mines of Newfoundland. - Their History and the Epidemic of Radiation Lung Cancer in 2013 as well as numerous scholarly articles, publications, and studies.
In spite of his many professional accomplishments, he was at all times a man of great humility whose passions were faith and family and who lived a modest life. He was a leader and regular speaker at the Faith Bible Chapel in St. John's for over 40 years. His knowledge of history was encyclopedic and his love of nature only grew with age. Nowhere was he more content than while gardening, hiking by the shores of his much-loved island, or berry picking around his cabin on Snow’s Pond with family, close friends and dog at hand.
Dr. Martin will be cremated with a celebration of his life to take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to The Arthritis Society of Canada will be gratefully accepted.