Biography:

Dr. Avril Marie MacDonald was born in Nairobi, Kenya on the 3rd of April, 1962.  Dr. MacDonald was the daughter of Grignion and Rui Fonseca and the sister of; Keith, Elaine, Nigel and Lynette.  Dr. MacDonald immigrated to Canada with her parents and siblings when she was a young child.  The Fonseca family settled in North York where she attended St. Joseph’s Secondary School and Northview Heights Secondary School.  Dr. MacDonald graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1985.  She completed her internship at hospitals in the Toronto area in 1986 and started her medical practice in Mississauga.

Dr. MacDonald met her future husband, Robert MacDonald when they were both attending Northview Heights Secondary School.  Mr. MacDonald also attended the University of Toronto.  He graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1985.  Dr. and Mr. MacDonald were married in North York on the 9th of November, 1985.  They moved to Chatham in 1989, where Dr. MacDonald had a family practice located on Grand Avenue.  Mr. MacDonald is the Crown Attorney for Chatham-Kent.

Dr. and Mr. MacDonald became the proud parents of two children, Adriana and Kevin.  Dr. MacDonald was a dedicated physician to her patients and enjoyed the respect of her colleagues at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, where she had practicing privileges.   In her spare time Dr. MacDonald enjoyed renovating her home and travelling with her family especially to Tofino, the French country-side, Spain and Disney World.

Dr. MacDonald died at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance on the 4th of January, 2016.  She was buried at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Thornhill, Ontario.

*Her sister Lynette Fonseca also became a physician.  She graduated from The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1982. She died on the 3rd of May, 1988 in Toronto.