Deeply loved by his family, Charles died peacefully on October 29 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Sechelt at the age of 95.
Charles was born in Liverpool, England, the eldest of five siblings. He joined the army at 19 and served in WW2 in Palestine, North Africa and Italy where he became an interpreter. After the war he attended Medical School in Liverpool, graduating in 1952. His interests led him to specialise and attain his FRCP(C) in Psychiatry in 1959.
With his wife Anne, he immigrated to Canada in 1955 to become a Research Associate at the University of Toronto. In 1962 they moved to Victoria where he became the Director of Mental Health Services for Vancouver Island.
Realising that mental health needed a more holistic approach, in 1966 Charles created the Pacific Centre for Human Development in Victoria, a residential care centre for children with emotional disabilities.
Charles was always questioning traditional therapies. His experiences with meditation, hypnosis and biofeedback inspired him to establish, in 1979, the Columbia Centre for Pain and Stress Management in Vancouver.
In 1991 Charles and Anne retired to Sechelt, where he continued to practise at the Mental Health Centre and in private practice. Throughout his career he gave innumerable talks, lectures and seminars and wrote many articles on a wide range of topics.
He had many interests including history, politics, music, science and the body/mind connection. He was a great reader with an eclectic library.
Charles was loved and will be missed by his family: Anne, his wife of 59 years, his son Jonathan and daughters Jane and Nicola and his grandchildren Joel, Darryn, Luke, Finn and Aoifa.
A special thanks to St. Mary’s Hospital staff for their outstanding care.
There will be a gathering in memory of Charles held in the Sparling Pavilion at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Gardens on Mason Road on Saturday, November 15, between 1:00 and 3:00pm. All are welcome.