Proctor, Roland
(September 8th, 2022)
Roland was born on October 8, 1946, in England and died on September 8, 2022, in the Kootenay Lake Hospital (Nelson, BC) after several weeks of tender care by his children in his Nelson home.
Roland was raised in Montreal after moving with his family as an infant from England. He first visited the Kootenays in 1967 as a geology student. He thereafter decided on a medical degree at McGill University despite his mother’s warning that his change of heart was likely due to sun stroke (a story he told fondly). After a residency in the St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, he returned to the Kootenays as a GP, opening a medical clinic in Riondel in 1974. Married in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, in 1976, Roland returned to the Kootenays in the early 1980s, and practiced as an anesthetist at the Trail Regional Hospital. He raised four children, in homes in Rossland, Johnson’s Landing, and Nelson. Roland spent his vigorous years working, gardening, hunting, skiing, and mountain biking. He spent his retired years tending to his beloved homestead in Johnson’s Landing, walking his dogs, and collecting pocket knives and Pendleton wool shirts. Roland will be remembered by the Kootenay families he served as a doctor and his many friends and acquaintances from Rossland to the north end of Kootenay Lake and all points in between.
Roland is survived by his four children (with partners) Amanda (Cyrille), Jamie (Ashleigh), Emily (Martin), and Isabella; three grandchildren Selina, Simone, and Nicklas; ex-wife Georgia; and sister Penny (Kelly).
We thank the Interior Health palliative care team (Nelson), the doctors and nurses at KLH, the Nelson Care Aid programme, Nelson End of Life Society, Dr. Kyle Merritt, Dr. Ralph Behrens (retired), Maureen Lewis and many other friends who lent a helping hand during the final months of Roland’s life. The family also extends its gratitude to the Thompson Funeral Service for their assistance.
His children intend to organize a celebration of life in the Kootenay Lake area in 2023. Family and friends will be informed and asked to spread the word.
