Biography:

Dr. George Edwin Schram Beattie was born in Highgate, Ontario on the 24th of October, 1905.  Dr. Beattie was the only child of Edwin Thomas Beattie and the former Ella Cora Reycraft.  His father was a merchant in Highgate and according to the 1921 census, the family resided on Victoria Street.  Dr. Beattie was educated in Highgate before attending London South Collegiate Institute.

Dr. Beattie went on to medical school at the University of Western Ontario in London. He graduated M.D. on the 29th of May, 1931. Dr. Beattie wrote and passed the exams for the Medical Council of Canada (L.M.C.C.) and the Michigan State Medical Board. He interned at St. Mary’s Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, at the Detroit Children’s Hospital and at St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan, finishing up in 1933.

Dr. Beattie moved to Chatham and he took over the practice of Dr. Charles Baird Oliver. In 1936 Dr. Beattie’s office was located at 35 King Street West in Chatham.  In 1946 he took post graduate studies in obstetrics and gynecology at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. He received the L.M. Degree (Licentiate Midwifery).

Dr. Beattie served overseas with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corp during World War II. He returned home with the rank of Captain in May of 1946. After the war, he served with he Kent Regiment and received a long service medal. He was an honored member of the Alpha Kappa Kappa Medical Fraternity. His medical practice was located at 274 King St. in Chatham.

Dr. Beattie married Edna Marion Georgina Griffith on the 16th of April, 1947 in Bronte, Ontario. Mrs. Beattie was born in Chatham on the 7th of September, 1913.  She was the only child of Edward James Griffith and the former Emma Jane Allen. According to the 1921 census, Mrs. Beattie resided with her parents at 189 Adelaide Street in Chatham.  Her father was a telegraph operator.  Upon their return from their honeymoon, Dr. and Mrs. Beattie resided at 320 King Street West (in Chatham).

Dr. and Mrs. Beattie had one son, Douglas Brian Beattie, who was born in Chatham on the 16th of June, 1953.

Dr. Beattie was the President of the Kent County Medical Society in 1953.  In 1957, Dr. Beattie took a course in anesthesiology at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. He received a Certificate of Proficiency. Also in 1957, Dr. Beattie was appointed as the Home Physician of Victoria Nursing Home in Chatham.  His annual salary was $500.00 per year plus fees payable through Medical Welfare.  He was known to be well-liked among the residents.  Dr. Beattie was a recipient of the Glenn Sawyer Award from the Ontario Medical Association.  This award is bestowed to a physician who has greatly contributed to their local community and to the medical profession.

In his spare time, Dr. Beattie enjoyed boating, hockey and baseball and he was a member of the Maple City Golf Club.  Mrs. Beattie was active in her church and she taught Sunday School.  She belonged to the I.O.D.E., the Maycourt Club of Chatham and she served as a Director on the Board of the Public General Hospital.  In 1974, the Beattie family resided at 201 Victoria Avenue.

Dr. Beattie had spent summers at Walloon Lake in Michigan since he was a little boy and this continued throughout his life.

Dr. Beattie was killed in an automobile collision on Highway #2, approximately 9 km. east of Chatham, on the 16th of December, 1978. Dr. Beattie’s son Douglas died in 1994.  Mrs. Beattie died in Chatham on the 28th of June, 1999.  Dr. and Mrs. Beattie were buried at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Chatham.

*Dr. Beattie is also featured on The Gathering Our Heroes website.

**Dr. Charles Baird Oliver is also on the Chatham-Kent Physician Tribute website.