Physician and surgeon.
Born at Grandview on 12 October 1926, son of John George “Jack” Mulligan (1890-1966) and Keturah “Kate” Bell (1903-1988), grandson of Joseph Nelson Bell, he left school at a young age to assist his father on the family farm but was encouraged to complete high school by principal John Nellson Belton.
After graduating with a medical degree from the University of Manitoba in 1955, he practiced at Ste. Rose du Lac under Dr. R. L. Gendreau. He also practiced for three years at Neepawa during which time he purchased an airplane and obtained a pilot's license. In 1961, he moved to Birmingham, England to take postgraduate training at the University of Birmingham and Birmingham Accident and Rehabilitation Hospital. He then returned to Canada and studied surgery at McGill University in Montreal and was a resident at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
In 1969, he returned to Winnipeg as Head of the Emergency Department and a surgical consultant to the Intensive Care Unit at the Health Sciences Centre. He held the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Manitoba and, after training at the University of Southern California, he founded and directed the University of Manitoba Road Safety Research Unit (1973-1992) that investigated road traffic collisions. He lobbied for mandatory seatbelt and motorcycle helmet legislation that was eventually introduced in 1984 by the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. Following retirement from surgical practice, he was a consultant to the Worker's Compensation Board until 2000.
In 1961, he married Lillian Olafsson and they had three sons and two daughters. In retirement, he operated a bed and breakfast facility at Middlechurch. He was a member of the Assiniboia Concert Band.
He died in June 2012.
Marriage registration [John George Mulligan, Keturah Bell], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Keturah Mulligan], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 August 1988, page 42.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 16 June 2012.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Wendy Prystenski for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 October 2025
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