Name:
Thomas Willoughby Walker 
Location served:
Ridgetown  
Years in Practice:
1904 to 1947
Area of Specialization:
Family Medicine and Internal Medicine  

Biography:

Dr. Thomas Willoughby Walker was born in Bethany, (Durham County) Ontario on the 4th of December, 1877.  Dr. Walker was the 4th of 5 children born to Rev. Robert Walker and the former Annie Eliza Hathaway.  His father was a Methodist minister and his siblings were; Ida Anna Walker, Harriett Jane Walker, Robert John Goldsmith Walker (who did not survive childhood) and Jessie Minnie E. Walker.  Dr. Walker’s family tended to move around as his father was transferred where needed.  Dr. Walker attended high school in Walkerton and Wiarton (Ontario).

Dr. Walker graduated from The University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1899.  During his final year he was Class President and President of the Tennis Club.  He graduated M.B. from The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1903 and settled in Ridgetown, Ontario to practice medicine.

Dr. Walker married Jean Mathewson Newsom in New York, New York on the 16th of May, 1904.  At the time of his marriage, Dr. Walker lived and worked in Ridgetown.  Mrs. Walker was born in Northumberland County, Ontario on the 2nd of March, 1871.  She was the 4th of 6 children born to Samuel Fletcher Newsom and the former Ellen McClung.  Mr. and Mrs. Newsom were both born in County Donegal in Ireland.

Mr. Samuel Fletcher Newsom was previously married to Mary Ann McClung and they had a daughter also named Mary Ann, who was born in 1857.  It is unknown at this time, what happened to Mary Ann (McClung) Newsom but Samuel Fletcher Newsom married Eleanor “Ellen” McClung in 1861 in Bowmanville. (It is believed that Ellen was the younger sister of Mary Ann McClung.)  Mrs. Walker’s parents were merchants and besides her sister Mary Ann Newsom her siblings were; Eleanor Harper Newsom, William L. Newsom, James Adam Newsom, Annie Matilda Newsom and David Charles Wesley Newsom born 1875.  Incidentally, Dr. Walker’s sister Harriett married Mrs. Walker’s brother James on the 28th of May, 1900 in Hagersville, Ontario and James Newsom was a physician.

Dr. and Mrs. Walker had a daughter, Eleanor Hathaway Walker born in Ridgetown on the 5th of August, 1905.  Dr. and Mrs. Walker and their daughter Eleanor moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan around 1910.  He was elected as the President of the Saskatoon Medical Association in 1915.

Dr. Walker enlisted as a Captain in the Canadian Army Medical Corp on the 12th of June, 1916 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  He was attached to Unit 196, Western Universities Battalion.  Dr. Walker served as Second In Command at the No. 5 Canadian General Hospital at Paplow, England.  In 1917 he was working with Professor John Meakins and Sir William Osler doing research.  Also in 1917 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.  In 1918, Dr. Walker went to France to work in the No. 4 Hospital, specializing in chest diseases.

After the war, Dr. Walker returned to Saskatchewan and he specialized in internal medicine.  Mrs. Walker died on the 5th of February, 1926.  She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon.

After the death of Mrs. Jean Walker, Dr. Walker married Marie Slocum.  She was born in Fairfield, Illinois on the 14th of July, 1887.  Her parents were John Slocum and the former Ella Fetters.  According to the 1910 census, Mrs. Walker lived with her parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and she was a teacher at a business college.

Dr. Walker moved to Victoria, British Columbia in 1930.  He was selected to be the Superintendent of the Royal Jubilee Hospital in 1933.

Mrs. Marie Walker died at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, on the 18th of September, 1940 after a short illness.  Her remains were interred at Royal Oak Crematorium.  At the time of her death, Dr. and Mrs. Walker resided at 3610 Cadbora Road, Oak Bay, B.C. (a suburb of Victoria).

Dr. Walker married Jeanne Theodora Groos.  She was born on the 26th of June, 1914 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Everard Henry Gross and the former Mabel Mary James.   Mrs. Walker was raised in Victoria with 2 brothers, Harold and David.  She graduated from Oak Bay High School and from Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing in 1937.  Mrs. Walker enjoyed gardening, travelling, golfing and playing bridge.  Dr. and Mrs. Walker had a son, David Walker.

Dr. Walker retired in March of 1947.  In a publication of the Victoria Daily News (March 12th, 1947), Dr. Walker stated that he was going to enjoy his “good-sized garden and (his) boat”.  Further he stated, “I’m going to go fishing”.  Dr. Walker also enjoyed photography.

Dr. Walker died on the 26th of April, 1963 in Victoria, British Columbia.  At the time of his death, he resided at 1602 Rockland Ave., in Victoria.  His remains were interred at Royal Oak Crematorium.

*Mrs. Jeanne Walker remarried twice after the death of Dr. Walker.  She died on the 21st of December, 2005.

**Mrs. Jean Mathewson (Newsom) Walker’s brother, Dr. James Adam Newsom graduated M.D. from Trinity University in Toronto in 1900.  Dr. Newsom practiced medicine in New York and in Connecticut.  He died on the 22nd of September, 1927 and he was buried at the Elora Cemetery in Elora, Ontario.