Dr. John Edward Alfred Tyson of R.R.3, Clifford, passed away on Thursday, May 12, 2022, in his 87th year. Husband of Patricia (Capes) Tyson. Father of Alicia Tyson & Paul Bak of Collingwood, Suzanne Tyson & Patrick Cowie of Toronto, and Jake Tyson of Drew, and grandfather of Christi and Tyler Devenyi, Tyson Hammond, Elliott Hammond, Ashley Cowie, and Jackson Cowie, and great-grandfather of Stratton Devenyi. Brother-in-law of Donna Arnold, and Joanne Arnold, both of Sarnia, and James and Patricia Capes of Sombra. Predeceased by parents Alfred and Grace (Hughes) Tyson, his aunt Emily Hughes, and by his brothers-in-law and sister-in-law Marguerite and Russel Murphy, William Arnold, and Keith Arnold. Known to friends and family alike as “Dr. T”, he led an extraordinary life with a career that spanned 6 decades in medicine, television and radio, and with several entrepreneurial ventures along the way. As a child, John’s adoring parents nurtured his musical abilities—singing being just the first of his many talents to express themselves. He sang in the Church of the Ascension choir and his pitch-perfect soprano was featured regularly on the Eaton’s Good Deed Club radio show. In 1960, John graduated with his M.D. from the University of Western Ontario and remained in London to complete his residency at Victoria Hospital. It was during this time that John was a member of a folk band called The Lowlanders. Despite regular live performances at London’s Latin Quarter and cutting a record with the band entitled Stop Kickin’ My Dawg, he determined the more prudent path to be medicine. John then began an illustrious career as an OB/Gyn, earning additional professional designations, including F.R.C.S.(C), F.A.C.O.G, F.A.C.S. and F.S.O.G.C. In 1966, John moved with Patricia and his daughters to Baltimore, Maryland as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at John’s Hopkins Hospital. He was part of a research team that discovered the hormone prolactin, launching his prolific career as an infertility specialist in Manitoba and Ontario. Now with three children, John and Patricia moved to Manitoba in 1978 where John took on the role of Chairman of the Health Sciences Centre and a professorial position at the University of Manitoba. A lifelong advocate of women’s health, John was a founding member of the Women’s Health Research Foundation – still in existence over 40 years later. While helping couples start their families, John remained active in the media, producing and writing an award-winning video series entitled Childbirth from the Inside Out and appearing as a medical guest on dozens of TV and radio programs in both the U.S. and Canada, the most notable perhaps Peter Gzowski’s 90 Minutes Live episode where Pierre Burton required Dr. T’s medical attention after a too-close encounter with a Cuisinart. Not satisfied with being just a medical guest, in 1986 John launched one of Canada’s first pay-TV cable stations, The Life Channel. It included his own show, Doctor on Call. Sadly, funding became an issue and the station was shuttered. Never one to wallow in any setback, John ‘fell back’ on medicine, opening four Care Centre infertility clinics, in Mississauga, Windsor, Kitchener and Harriston. Harriston became home to John and Patricia in 1999. A quiet retirement on their farm was never in the cards for John, and, in 2015, he secured a broadcast license from the CRTC and co-launched a community radio station FM 88.7, The River, in Mount Forest, Ontario. Approaching his 80’s at this stage, John still wrote and broadcast his own show, called Medi-Minutes, providing health information on a variety of topics. Dr. T’s legacy lives on through his own family and through the thousands of families his profession enabled him to assist. A service to celebrate the life of Dr. John Tyson will be held on Tuesday, May 17th at 10:30am at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Mount Forest. Interment in Harriston Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Humane Society or a charity of your choice made be made through the Hardy-Lee Funeral Home, Harriston. The Tyson family wishes to thank so many wonderful members of the medical team for their kindness and care for John, especially to Dr. M.J. Calarco, the staff at Palmerston and Louise Marshall Hospitals and Royal Terrace, the Waterloo Wellington LHIN, V.O.N., and to Bree, Dr. Tyson’s wonderful caregiver. We also wish to express our appreciation to Allan and Wendy at Hardy-Lee Funeral Home and Rev. Shirl Christian for guiding us through this difficult time with sincere kindness and extreme patience. On-line condolences at www.hardyleefuneralhome.com.
