Dr. Walter Rosser, FHG 490, passed away on October 2, 2022 after a brief illness.  Walter was a member of the Guard of 1961, and went on to have a remarkable 55-year career as a clinician, teacher, researcher and leader in family medicine.

Walter’s personal and professional accomplishments and accolades are too long to list here.  He served as chair of four of the five family medicine departments in Ontario: University of Ottawa; McMaster University; University of Toronto and Queen’s University, his alma mater, where he was a professor emeritus in his final years. In 2017, his peers established The Walter Rosser Chair in Family Medicine in his honour.

In 2010, Walter was named to the Order of Canada, and his citation read:  “Walter Rosser has helped to advance the field of family medicine and has contributed to the evolution of primary care research in Canada. He has been most influential in building mechanisms for the review and evaluation of health care systems, notably helping to establish practice-based research networks in Canada… and has long promoted evidence-based medicine in his field. A leader in primary care reform, he has influenced policy and guidelines not only within Canada, but also in many other countries around the world.”

We extend our sincere condolences to Walter’s wife Janet, his children Tom and Nancy, and his many family, friends and colleagues.

Obituary: Ottawa Citizen