John Peter Duffy

John Peter Duffy was born in Renfrew, Scotland on May 9, 1930. He was the second son of Peter and Elizabeth Duffy. He had two brothers, an older brother Eric and a younger brother Thomas. John attended St. James Primary School in Renfrew and St. Mirren’s Academy Paisley, Scotland. In 1948 he joined the British Army for National Service in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers serving for one or two years. He then worked as an orderly in Killearn Hospital Neurosurgery Unit for one year. In 1951 he entered Glasgow University Medical School for a 6 year course. He worked on weekends as a bus driver. In 1955 John married Helen Paton Macalister and they had their four children over the next 6 years - Gerald Donald, Louise Elizabeth, Mary Jane and Rupert Thomas. After graduation in 1958 he worked as House Officer and Senior House Officer in Internal Medicine. From 1960 to 1963 he was Registrar in Internal Medicine at the West Suffolk General Hospital, Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk, England. From 1963 to 1968 he served as Registrar and Senior Registrar in Psychiatry in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1968 John, Helen and the family emigrated to Canada and John worked in Yorkton and Regina, Saskatchewan for three years. He then moved to Vancouver and became Director of UBC Psychiatric unit at Riverview Hospital. In 1973 he became Director of Forensic Psychiatric Services for the province of British Columbia. A post he held for nine years. In 1983 he started private practice in Vancouver with admitting privileges at St. Vincent’s Hospital. In 1989 John and Helen moved to Abbotsford where John worked in Fraser Valley mental health units. In 1994 he again went into private practice in Abbotsford which he continued until his retirement in 1999.In 2000, John and Helen drove across Canada to the Maritimes and back across the USA. In 2001 they drove up to Alaska. John had a keen interest in military history, in particular that of World Wars I and II. His hobbies included: modeling of military aircraft and vehicles, aviation – he held a private pilot’s license, and photography – he had a collection of 138,000 slides. He also was interested in Scottish culture and music. In 2008 John volunteered as a prison visitor. He died on November 19, 2009 at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Center. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on November 26, 2009 at 11 am at St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Arrangements under the direction of Henderson's Fraser Valley Funeral Home, Abbotsford, BC.