Dr. Basil St. John Brown

Dr. Basil St. John Brown of Halifax passed away peacefully on December 29, 2014, in the Halifax Infirmary. He was 86. Born at Cherry Orchard Farm, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England; he was the son of Basil St. John Brown (Sr.) and Nora McAlinden. After obtaining his Physician M.B., B.S. from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, University of London, he spent two years in the RAF and RCAF in France. Moving to Canada in 1955, he had specialist training as a resident in diagnostic and therapeutic radiology and nuclear medicine at McGill University and the Montreal General Hospital, obtaining a Diploma in Radiology. He then worked as a staff radiologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital until 1967, when he moved his young family to Halifax. In Nova Scotia, he worked at the Victoria General Hospital until 1970. From then until 1993 he was a staff radiologist at the IWK Children's Hospital, and Chief Radiologist at the Grace Maternity Hospital. He was also a professor of radiology at Dalhousie University from 1967-1993. Upon his retirement in 1993, he worked part-time at various hospitals in NS including Annapolis General Hospital and Digby General Hospital, among others, until his final retirement in 2012. St. John coveted his time hunting in the woods with his dogs. A young Brittany named Sally survives him. He was a founding member of the Bluenose chapter of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA). Camping, fishing, canoeing, cycling, swimming, golf, squash, and vegetable gardening were some of his other beloved pastimes. He is survived by his loving wife of 53 years Janet Mary (Macdonald); son Jeremy (Kim), Enfield; daughters Hilary (Celeste) and Julie, both of Halifax; brother Eric and niece Nora, both of Scotland; niece Helene, England; and grandchildren Drew and Noah, Enfield. He was pre-deceased by brother Michael, sister, Eileen, and infant son Andrew. The family would like to thank all of the wonderful staff who looked after Dad at the Abbie J. Lane Building and the Halifax Infirmary. Special mention goes out to Donna Pye and Bernadette Shea, who cared for Dad in his home, and Kris and Mariola Ganski of Kingswood Residence. St. John greatly valued his family, work colleagues, students, hunting buddies, neighbours, and friends. He will be sorely missed by all. There will be no visitation. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, January 8, 2015, at 2:00 pm in Rockingham United Church, 12 Flamingo Dr., Halifax. A reception in the church hall will follow. Reverend Debbie Aitken will officiate. Cremation has taken place. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to a charity of your choice.