Obituary of Robert Edwin Washburn

On June 23, 2011, in his 100th year, Dr. Robert Edwin Washburn, passed away peacefully at home. He was predeceased by his wife, Bertha (McIntyre) Washburn, in March of this year, after 72 years of marriage, his parents, Arthur H. Washburn and Mary (Hart) Washburn, three brothers, Walter, George and David, and three sisters, Ruth, Marion (Jenkins) and Anne (Shuve). He is survived by two sons, Dr. Robert (Gail), of Aylmer, Ontario, and Bruce (Heather) of Saint John; eleven grandchildren, Geoffrey, of Prague Czech Republic, Ruth Anne and Heather (Stephen) of Toronto, David (Emily) of London, England, Rebecca (Max) of Fredericton, and Daniel (Anna), Aaron, Adam, Nathaniel, Markis and Michael of Saint John, and four great-grandchildren, Calvin, Meagan, Hannah and Charlie. Dr. Washburn was a 1928 graduate of Saint John High School and worked briefly for the Canada Permanent Trust Company on Dock St., prior to the stock market crash of 1929. He then was hired as a Laboratory Assistant at the Provincial Laboratory at the Saint John General Public Hospital, and received his certification as a Medical Laboratory Technician. As a part of the war effort, he entered the medical program at Dalhousie University, graduating in 1947. His medical practice became focussed on diabetic treatment, as he was able to do his own lab tests through his office. In 1965, he left practice and joined the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario as a Regional Director in Sudbury, and later in the Niagara Counties Region. Upon his retirement in 1977, he worked as a staff physician with the Department of Radiotherapy, at the Saint John Regional Hospital, and the Church of St. John and St. Stephen Nursing Home. He was a life member of the New Brunswick Medical Society, a founding partner of Medical Arts Inc. along with Drs. Weyman, Sutherland and Tonning, and was a Past-President of the Canadian Diabetes Association. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Brenan's Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John (634-7424). A funeral service will take place at 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 27, at Brenan’s Funeral Chapel. Interment to take place at Greenwood Cemetery, Saint John West. In his memory, donations may be made to the Canadian Diabetes Association or the New Brunswick Association for Community Living.