Name:
Wyatt “Lorn” McIlwraith 
Location served:
Thamesville  
Years in Practice:
1912 to 1953
Area of Specialization:
Family Medicine  

Biography:

Dr. Wyatt “Lorn” McIlwraith was born in Woodstock, Ontario on the 31st of March 1887.  Dr. McIlwraith was the 2nd of 5 children born to John McIlwraith and the former Jessie Wyatt.  His father was a builder and his siblings were; Hattie McIlwraith (who died at the age of 22), Nora Minerva McIlwraith, Agnes McIlwraith and Martha McIlwraith.  Dr. McIlwraith received his early education in the Woodstock area.

Dr. McIlwraith graduated M.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1912.  He joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons on the 20th of November, 1913.  Dr. McIlwraith started his medical practice in North Pines, Ontario.  In 1915 he was the Superintendent of the North Pines Hospital in Graham, Ontario.

Dr. McIlwraith married Rhoda Winnifred Leeson on the 5th of May, 1915 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Mrs. McIlwraith was born in Camden Twp (Chatham-Kent) on the 21st of October, 1890.  She was the eldest of 9 children born to Frederick Thomas Leeson and the former Maria Amy Jane Book.  Her parents were farmers in Camden Twp, near Croton (Chatham-Kent) and her siblings were; John Newsham Leeson, William Fisher Leeson, Thomas Filman Leeson, Lora Ruth Leeson, Dudley Curran Leeson, Marie Louise Leeson, Wallace Smith Leeson and Elliott Reid Leeson.  At the time of her marriage, Mrs. McIlwraith was the Principal of the Hurley School in Oldfield.  (Oldfield was a small community on Oldfield Line, North of Dover Centre in Chatham-Kent).

During WWI, Dr. McIlwraith served as a Medical Officer at the Christie Street Hospital in Toronto.

By 1918 Dr. McIlwraith was practicing medicine in Thamesville, Ontario.  A daughter Laura Jean McIlwraith was born in Thamesville, on the 22nd of September, 1921.  After 21 years of caring for the citizens of Thamesville, Dr. McIlwraith moved his family, which now included 2 daughters Jean and Marie, to Brantford in 1939.

During World War II, Dr. McIlwraith served as a Medical Officer with The Second Battalion Dufferin Rifles.  He was a member of the Ozias Lodge, A.F. & A.M. and he served as a Past Master.  Dr. McIlwraith was Past President of the Brantford Scottish Rite Association and he was a Past Grand of Mohawk Lodge.  He was a member of the I.O.O.F., the Children’s Aid Society and the Brantford Historical Society.

Dr. and Mrs. McIlwraith resided at 18 Inwood Drive in Brantford.

Mrs. McIlwraith died at her residence on the 19th of December, 1947.  Dr. McIlwraith died at his residence in Brantford on the 16th of September, 1953.  Dr. and Mrs McIlwraith were buried at the Farringdon Cemetery in Brantford.

Note: The editor has confirmed that Lorn is spelled correctly as per his tombstone and his obituary in the Canadian Medical Journal.