Dr. William Emerson Page had a remarkable life, but he was most interested in other people’s stories.
Everywhere he went, the former medical officer of health for Brantford and Brant County would ask people about themselves.
“Anyone he encountered, he would ask them, ‘How long have you been doing this job, what do you like a about it?’” said Dr. Page’s daughter, Liz Almeida. “From waitresses to contractors at our home to health-care workers caring for him over the years, he had a general need to know people’s stories and liked to give advice and encouragement.
“When I was in nursing school and we were learning how to give injections into an orange, my dad allowed all my classmates to learn on him instead. He had an incredible sense of humor and people were drawn to him.
“He cared about the community almost as much as his family.”
Dr. Page died on June 1 at the age of 97.
Born in 1924 in the village of Burk’s Falls, Ont., just south of North Bay, Dr. Page moved frequently as a child when his father, an OPP officer, would get a new post.
After serving in the Second World War as a member of the intelligence corps of the No. 1 Canadian Special Wireless Group in Darwin, Australia, Dr. Page attended the University of Toronto, leaving not just with a medical degree, but also the love of his life and wife of almost 70 years, Margaret Plewes.
After interning in Hamilton in 1954, Dr. Page bought a practice in Cobourg, Ont., “where he became especially proficient at bringing babies into the world.”
Being a small town doctor wasn’t easy, said Dr. Page’s son, Bill Page.
“He covered a huge rural area. He was constantly gone making house calls on someone who had gone into labor early or to throw a few stitches into someone who’d had a farm accident.”
But, as his own family grew to include four children, including daughters Judy and Katie, Dr. Page began to feel he was missing out on their childhoods. Bill said nothing was more important to his father than spending time with his family.
So, in 1966, he sold his practice, moved his family to Margaret’s hometown of Brantford, and went back to school, earning a degree in public health. The following year, Dr. Page became Brantford’s MOH, a day job that would allow him more time at home. Liz said her dad’s expertise, community mindedness and accessibility earned him the respect of community leaders, fire and police chiefs, family physicians and school principals.
Bill said his father got other job offers over the years in bigger cities but he always turned them down.
“He’d say, ‘Why would I leave? I can be home in five minutes for lunch and have time to play a game of cards with my daughter before heading back to work.’”
After retiring from the Brant County Health Unit in 1989, Dr. Page spent his time reading, fishing, gardening, golfing – he was a member of the Brantford Golf and Country Club for almost 60 years – and enjoying his grandchildren.
Bill said his dad had nicknames for everyone and would loudly recite poems and sing “goofy songs” while working in his backyard.
“He was just fun,” said Bill.
As Dr. Page approached 90, his family began to notice signs of dementia and decided to throw him a birthday party “while he was able to know all his guests,” said Liz. There was a huge turnout and Dr. Page stood all night, greeting every person.
“We wanted him to understand the far-reaching magnitude of people who loved him from all walks of life.”
A celebration of life will be held for Dr. Page at a later date.