DAVID HARCOMBE EVANS

1941 - 2024

DAVID HARCOMBE EVANS, MB, BS, LRCP, MRCS, FRCSC, FACS, DABU January 3, 1941- December 15, 2024 Dr. David H. Evans passed away suddenly on Sunday, December 15, 2024, leaving behind his wife, Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz; children, Margaret (Philip Graeme) and Robert (Lisa Yeates); and grandchildren, Julian and Noah in Vancouver, and Zara and Camilla in Toronto. David was born in Cardiff, Wales, to DP. Evans, BSc, DSc, PhD, CBE and Vura (nee Harcombe). He obtained MB BS degrees from the Guy's Hospital Medical School at the University of London in 1965. In 1967, he immigrated to Canada, taking up the anatomy teaching position at the University of Toronto. He was in general practice in the West End of Toronto and on staff at St. Joseph's between 1967-1970, before training in urology at the University of Toronto. After a fellowship at the Princess Margaret Hospital, he had a busy urology practice between 1977 and 2002 at the Peel Memorial Hospital in Brampton. He held several leadership positions at the Peel Memorial, including terms as Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff. He was an active member and a treasurer of SUSO - Society of Urologists of Southern Ontario, and active member of the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto where he served as President in 2015-2016. In addition to his passion for surgery, he had a lifelong interest in forensic medicine, and in 1991 he was appointed as a coroner for the Province of Ontario in Brampton. After retirement from urology, he devoted time to his second career. He served as Regional Supervising Coroner for Toronto West (2002 – 2010) at the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. Over the next 18 years, he held various leadership and staff positions in the Coroner's Office, serving as Investigating Coroner leading a large number of inquests, as a Supervising Coroner all over Ontario, including in Kingston, Guelph, and Thunder Bay, and as staff coroner in Toronto. He enjoyed drawing on his clinical expertise, from helping individual patients to influencing policy to improve the lives of many patients. He finally fully retired as a coroner in 2020. Known for being ever helpful to everyone who needed him, he was honoured by the Police Services Board with a Partnership Citation Award in 2007. David loved to travel, especially visiting family and friends in his beloved Wales and around the world. He particularly enjoyed lobster dinners at the Monhegan Island Inn with Mary. He was also an amateur pilot in the 1960 - 70s, famously taking Mary on a flight which he realized afterwards might have jeopardized his planned proposal, but thankfully she accepted, and they recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. He was an avid rugby fan and a close follower of the Formula 1 racing, following all events and celebrating each Lewis Hamilton victory. David will be immensely missed by all who knew him. His quiet and patient demeanor was also full of laughter, storytelling, jokes, and his whistling of everything from military marches to ABBA brightened the halls of many homes and hospitals. His grandchildren will remember his Mary Poppins pockets full of treats, and his endless capacity for Lego building. Known as 'Tadcu' to his grandsons, David was always keen to share his passion for aviation, WWII and movies with them. When asked a few years ago how he would like to be remembered, David wrote, "I would want to be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather to my family. And as a good physician and surgeon who was compassionate, helpful, truthful, and always did his best for his patients." The family extends thanks to Drs. Peter Liu, Gary Newton, and Sean Balmain for looking after David's heart over the last 20 years. A small private family funeral will be held, and a larger celebration of life will be planned for Spring 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, or to the heart failure program at Sinai Health Foundation.