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James Rodway Kirkpatrick
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Physician and surgeon.
Born at Dundee, Scotland on 27 June 1927 to Nora Lister and Henry Joseph Kikpatrick, both doctors, he was educated at Inverness Royal Academy and then studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, qualifying in 1950. He was a registrar on the professorial surgical unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, and then a research fellow at Cardiff Royal Infirmary. He later served in the Royal Naval Medical Service and retired with the rank of Surgeon Commander, and was also a consultant surgeon at Bruntsfield and Deaconess hospitals.
In 1976, he came to Canada as Professor of Surgery at the University of Manitoba, serving as Head of the Department of Surgery at the St. Boniface General Hospital until 1986, and was Head of General Surgery at St. Boniface from 1986 until 1998. He was one of the founders of laparoscopic general surgery in Manitoba and established the St. Boniface Surgical Associates in 1982, a team of surgical specialists from multiple disciplines. He instructed and mentored hundreds of surgical trainees.
After his retirement as Head of General Surgery, he maintained his University appointment and consultancy position with St. Boniface General Hospital and took on a consulting position with the Thompson General Hospital, performing a wide range of general surgical procedures, and the Workers Compensation Board. Other professional appointments included President of the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Clinical Surgeons, President of the Manitoba Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, Member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons, and President of the Medical Staff of St. Boniface General Hospital.
In 1951, he married Helen Louise Amelia Prendergast Fermie, who was also a graduate of the University of Edinburgh Medical School. They had three children before divorcing in 1980. His daughter and granddaughter followed him into medicine, extending the family legacy into a fourth generation. In 1981, he married Genevieve Thompson. At the time of his death, his interests outside of medical practice were fishing, his dog, Oliver, and studying the history of medicine.
He died at Winnipeg on 15 April 2010.
Winnipeg Divorce File Index, 1917-1984, Archives of Manitoba.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 April 2010.
“Kirkpatrick, James Rodway,” Royal College of Surgeons of England.
We thank Liz Downey for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 22 November 2025
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