Wilbert Keon

Wilbert Joseph Keon OC OOnt (May 17, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was a Canadian physician. A heart surgeon and researcher by profession, Keon was a longtime Canadian senator.[1]

Wilbert Keon
Senator for Ottawa, Ontario
In office
September 27, 1990  May 17, 2010
Nominated byBrian Mulroney
Appointed byRay Hnatyshyn
Personal details
Born
Wilbert Joseph Keon

(1935-05-17)May 17, 1935
Sheenboro, Quebec, Canada
DiedApril 7, 2019(2019-04-07) (aged 83)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political partyConservative
Occupationheart surgeon, researcher

Biography

Born in Sheenboro, Quebec,[1] Keon received a Bachelor of Science from St. Patrick's College, Carleton University[2] and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Ottawa.[3]

After a period of studying and teaching at Harvard University in Boston, he returned to Ottawa in 1969.[2] Keon founded the University of Ottawa Heart Institute at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1976,[3] acting as its CEO for more than thirty years until his retirement from that job in April 2004.[4] In 1986, he was the first Canadian to implant an artificial heart into a human as a bridge to transplant.[5] Keon retired as a working doctor and resigned from the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons in June 2010.

In 1990 Keon was appointed to the Senate by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, where he sat as a Conservative.[1] In 2010, Keon retired from the Senate upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.[6]

Keon married Anne Jennings in 1960. They have three children: Claudia, Ryan, (who ran for the Liberal Party of Canada in the federal riding of Nepean-Carleton,[7]) and Neil. Keon also has a school named after him in Chapeau, Quebec. He died from a suspected heart attack on April 7, 2019, aged 83.[8]

Controversy

On November 25, 1999, Keon was caught in a prostitution sting by an undercover Ottawa police officer. Shortly thereafter, on December 16 of that same year, he resigned as director of the Ottawa Heart Institute.[9]

Honours

See also

References

  1. Wilbert Keon – Parliament of Canada biography
  2. "Wilbert Keon". Carleton University.
  3. "Senator Dr. Wilbert Keon". Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
  4. "Board Member Biographies". Champlain Local Health Integration Network.
  5. "Achievements 'dwarf' doctor's humanity". Calgary Herald. May 11, 1986. p. 13.
  6. "Lions, Argos owner Braley tapped for Senate". CBC News. May 20, 2010.
  7. "Liberals: Ryan Keon". Ottawa Citizen. April 17, 2014.
  8. "Renowned heart surgeon Dr. Wilbert Keon dies", CBC, April 8, 2019
  9. Buchanan, Carrie. "Senator Keon quits director's job at Heart Institute". OTTAWA CITIZEN.
  10. "Wilbert Joseph Keon". Order of Canada. Governor General of Canada. 11 June 2018.
  11. "101st Convocation". Carleton University. June 18, 1994.
  12. Deachman, Bruce (2019-04-08). "Dr. Wilbert Keon: Former senator, heart institute founder dies at 83". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
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