Obituary of DR. SEMEON BOHDAN HRUSHOVETZ
DR. SEMEON BOHDAN HRUSHOVETZ
June 4, 1927 - January 23, 2024
After spending a quiet day surrounded by family, Dr. Semeon Bohdan Hrushovetz passed away peacefully in hospital at age 96 on January 23, 2024 following the sudden discovery of an inoperable brain tumour.
Semeon (Sam) was born on June 4, 1927 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His parents Michael and Mary Hrushovetz were market gardeners and Sam and his brother Bill, grew up working on the family farm after school. Semeon entered university at 17, earning his B.Sc. (Honours) degree in biology from the University of Manitoba in 1949. He moved to Edmonton that summer and worked with the Canadian Department of Agriculture as a plant pathologist while pursuing an M.Sc. in biochemistry from the University of Alberta (1952). He later completed a Ph.D. in cytogenetics and plant pathology from the University of Toronto (1955).
Sam returned to Winnipeg in Fall 1956 to study medicine at the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1960, the first Ukrainian Canadian with a Ph.D. to also graduate with an M.D. in the university’s history. After completing a rotating Internship at the St. Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg, he moved to Saskatoon in 1961 and worked as a cell biologist doing cancer research at the University of Saskatchewan.
Sam met Margaret (Marge) Dolhun at a Ukrainian Catholic students club while they were both studying at university. They married in Winnipeg on September 1, 1962. Two weeks later, after their honeymoon in Nassau, Marge joined Sam in Saskatoon. In December 1963 their daughter Mary Margaret was born. The family moved back to Winnipeg and welcomed sons Semeon Jr. in 1965 and Stephen Michael in 1966.
Dr. Hrushovetz returned to Winnipeg in 1965 to establish the Winnipeg Clinic Research Institute Laboratory and was its first Medical Director. During the 13 years that Dr. Hrushovetz pursued a career in cancer research, he published more than 40 scientific papers.
When this private lab dissolved in 1968, Dr. Hrushovetz decided to practice medicine and maintained a busy medical practice for over 35 years. In 1974 he fulfilled a lifelong dream and established the Kildonan Institute of Gerontology, a non-profit research foundation devoted to the study of aging. He was also a staff physician at the Holy Family Nursing Home for 20 years.
From 1984 to 1993, Dr. Hrushovetz was employed as a Medical Officer with the Manitoba Workers Compensation Board. He later taught orthopaedic medicine at the Manitoba Institute of Homeopathy. Dr. Semeon B. Hrushovetz, B.Sc.(Hons), M.Sc., Ph.D., M.D., CCFP, FCFP, FAAFP retired from active medical practice in 1999.
A lifelong learner, tech enthusiast and trailblazer, Dr. Sam was a true renaissance man. He enjoyed writing and maintained two blogs into his nineties at www.docsam.ca. He loved playing golf, watching sports and travelling with his family. Sam and his wife Marge were also very active in Holy Eucharist Church.
Sam will be lovingly remembered and deeply missed by his beloved wife of 61 years, Margaret, and their three children, Mary Margaret (Richard) Powrie of Toronto, Semeon Bohdan Hrushovetz Jr. of Calgary, and Stephen Michael Hrushovetz of Winnipeg. Sam is also survived by his cousins Alma Acheson and Alvin MacAtavish and by his wife Margaret’s three brothers Simon Dolhun of Winnipeg, Edward (Bonnie) Dolhun of Winnipeg and Wes (Marcella) Dolhun of Edmonton.
The family is grateful to everyone in the St. Boniface General Hospital Palliative Care Service for providing 'docSam' with such dignified and compassionate care in his last days.
The Visitation will be at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 30, 2024 followed by the Order of Burial and Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church, 505 Watt Street, Winnipeg.
Вічная Пам’ять
Memory Eternal
