Dr. Angus Joseph MacKintosh

It is with great sadness that the family of Dr. Angus Joseph MacKintosh announces his passing on Friday, October 26, 2018 at the LaVerendrye Hospital - with his loving wife of 54 years and members of his family by his side.

He was born as the fifth of eventually eight children to James and Mary Ann MacKintosh (nee Cameron) on May 2, 1930, in the family’s hotel in Onich, near Fort William, Scotland. As with many children of the depression era, he was required to work, in his case at the hotel and on its surrounding croft land. Later, in his teens, with the wartime demands on British manpower, he crewed on the MacKintosh’s ferry boat at the Corran Narrows of Lochaber. He excelled at school and graduated Fort William High School in the upper portion of his class. Post-war Scotland offered limited opportunity; thus, at eighteen ‘Gus’ entered the engineering branch of the Royal Navy – a natural fit for a young man raised around farm equipment, boats and the sea. He rose to the modest rank of Stoker, 1st Class and as such saw substantially more of coal stores and boiler rooms than of any starry tropical skies.

In 1951, after completing his national service, he was accepted at Glasgow University and in January 1958, graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery. After internships at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Southern General Hospital, he moved south and began his specialization in Obstetrics and Gynecology at King’s Lynn in Norfolk, England. In July 1968, he obtained membership in Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG).

He had fallen in love with Carole Martin when they were both students in Glasgow and on February 4, 1964, while he was practicing in London, they were united in marriage. Continuing to make a life together in London and later in Helensburgh, Scotland, Angus and Carole had five of their eight children. On August 1, 1971, the burgeoning MacKintosh clan immigrated to Canada and settled in Fort Frances, where “Dr. Mac” began work at the LaVerendrye General Hospital and the Fort Frances Clinic – places where he formed some of his strongest personal and professional bonds. He continued growing both his family and career, the former with the addition of another son and two more daughters and the latter with a Fellowship of the RCOG in 1986. On September 30, 2010, at aged 80 and after 39 years of being the lone OBGYN specialist in the district, he took a northern physician’s version of early retirement. It has been estimated that during his career, he delivered more than 10,000 babies, occasionally spanning three generations of some families.

When not engaged with his team’s rewarding medical work, Gus loved square dancing, cooking (indoor and out), golfing (sometimes) and especially watching his grandchildren’s sports and activities. He was obsessive about crossword puzzles (mostly those impossible cryptic ones) and was an inveterate reader of history and biographies - equipping him with an encyclopedic knowledge of arcane facts and quotations. After retirement, he travelled the world with the love of his life, Carole; learning together in such diverse places as the Pyramids, the Great Wall, Machu Pichu and the Galapagos Islands. They visited every continent but Antarctica; however, many of their favorite trips together were spent connecting with friends and family in the UK.

Angus remained a faithful member of the Roman Catholic Church throughout his life. He leaves behind his wife Carole and her sisters Therese (Gordon) and Elaine (Phillip); his own sisters: Isleen, Morag and Joan; his children: Niall, Alistair, Diarmid (Twila), Ewan (Jane), Shona (Robin), Torquil, Aela (Lenard) and Lindsay (Gavin); many nieces and nephews; and grandchildren: Cameron, Siobhan, Duncan, Craig, Julia, Angus, Malcolm, Iona, Donald, Iain, Morven, Aaron, Amber, Diarmid and Katherine.

Angus was predeceased by his parents; by his brothers: Alistair and Donald; by sisters: Katherine and Ann; nephew Paul and by his niece Sarah.

Funeral mass will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Fort Frances, ON with Father Alan Albao officiating. The pallbearers will be Angus’ five sons and son-in-law Gavin Payne. Cremation will take place with interment at a later date in the MacKintosh plot at Cille Choirill cemetery in Glen Spean, Lochaber, Scotland.

If friends so desire, in memoriam donations may be made to St. Mary’s Parish or in support of the OBGYN Equipment and Education to the Riverside Foundation, 110 Victoria Avenue, Fort Frances, Ontario, P9A 2B7. Online condolences may be made in care of www.greenfuneralhomefortfrances.com.