Terence Alvin RICHARDS M.D.

Passed peacefully at Joseph Brant Hospital on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at the age of 93. Loving husband of Dr. Jo-Anne Richards; son of Mary and Charles; beloved father of Paul, Sue (Gordon) MacLean, Kathryn (Perry) Miele, Cameron (Stephanie) and David; proud grandfather of Christine (Nolan), Brandon (Jaclyn), Sarah (Jake), Ryan (Isabeau), Bianca (Jeremy), Anthony, Erich, Jack, Owen, and Annika; and great-grandpa to Everly. Terry is predeceased by his siblings, David Richards, Dr. Burke Richards, and Joan Blackwell. Terry will be deeply missed by all his extended family and friends.
Terry had a very kind heart and a generous spirit and was a wonderful husband and father. Although he never spoke about it, he also had a very accomplished professional life and spent over 30 years as a highly regarded general surgeon at the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital in Burlington, Ontario. He graduated from the Medical School at the University of Western Ontario in 1953. Following graduation and a general internship at Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario, he entered training in general surgery at Montreal Hospitals and completed a master's degree from McGill University. He then returned to Ontario, spending a year at the Hamilton General Hospital before beginning his practice in both Hamilton and Burlington. He loved his time working at the Joseph Brant Hospital, and especially enjoyed the hockey group and their tournaments.
Terry had a very busy practice, but he spent nearly all of his free-time with his family - not out of obligation, there was simply nothing else he enjoyed better. The family has great memories of their vacation travels, with a lot of them featuring a tent trailer jam-packed with all seven family members and rainy or stormy destinations. Terry also spent a lot of time playing and watching sports with his family. Importantly, he was a very good listener and took the time with each of his five children to understand their personal dreams and their fears and to provide them with a lot of comfort when they were down. He spent many summers with the family at their cottage on Lake Muskoka, battling it out on the tennis court and the bridge table with friends and family. However, he had just as much passion for making huge breakfasts, including his famous syrup-laden pancakes. He truly had a "yearn to learn" that was very broad in scope, which also encompassed the arts and cultural events. He loved his visits to France and Italy to see his family who were working there, and the opportunity to chat with many of the residents about anything and everything. Wherever Terry went, including walking the dog daily with Jo-Anne and Paul in Burlington, he reached out to get to know all of the people he met.
Terry also had a great love of reading, and in particular the biographies of Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela, two men for whom he had great admiration. He was a man of great faith and was a regular and enthusiastic attendee of Sunday services at Port Nelson United Church, where he was an Elder and a member of the choir, and more recently, at Wellington Square United Church. However, he was an extraordinarily positive person who did a lot more than just "talk the talk", and had a special place in his heart for people that were sad or had lost their way. Terry had a rich, full life and especially near its end, drew a lot of comfort and support from his faith and his family, especially his loving wife of 69 years, Jo-Anne, and his oldest son Paul.
Visitation and Service will take place at Smith's Funeral Home, 1167 Guelph Line, Burlington on Wednesday, April 27, 2022. Visitation will begin at 12:00pm and the service will take place at 1:00 p.m. Reception to follow.
For those who wish, donations in Terry's honour to Joseph Brant Hospital, specifically the Mental Health unit, would be sincerely appreciated by the family.
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