Angus Ian Rae

Dr. Angus Ian Rae passed away peacefully on July 9, 2020, in Victoria, British Columbia, at the age of 91. Angus's enthusiasm for life, enquiring mind, wicked sense of humour and interest in everyone he met were the defining characteristics of his personality.
Angus was born in London, England, on May 7, 1929, the first child of Blodwen Rae (née Williams), a nurse, and Laurence John Rae, a radiologist. He grew up in Surrey, England, with his siblings, John, Bobbi and Suzi. Because of bombing raids during WWII, he and his brother were sent to school in North Devon and later to Bishop's Stortford College in Hertfordshire where he excelled at water polo, rugby and short-distance running. In 1948, he enrolled in the London Hospital Medical School, and in 1953, he qualified MBBS.
After junior posts in several London hospitals, he completed his compulsory two-year National Service as a 1st Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps with the Ghurka 17th Infantry Division in Malaya (now Malaysia). On returning to Britain in 1956, he was recalled in October of that year during the Suez Crisis to care for war casualties who were transported to an aircraft carrier, HMS Theseus, moored off Port Said, Egypt. Following this assignment, he returned again to England and did further medical training to qualify as a consultant in the Royal College of Physicians (London), specializing in nephrology. In 1965, Angus took a research posting in San Francisco, California. He later worked in Seattle, Washington, and then took a position at a hospital run by the Sisters of Providence in Spokane, Washington. In 1968, the Sisters of Providence recruited him to set up and run a renal unit at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was instrumental in setting up the first program in the province to have patients perform their own hemodialysis at home. With nurses, technologists and other members of the team, Angus ran the renal unit for seven years before taking on his first partner, Dr. Clifford Chan Yan. When Angus retired from St. Paul's Hospital in 1994, the partnership had expanded to seven physicians. Throughout his years in practice in Vancouver, Angus also provided a consulting service to the Yukon by visiting Whitehorse every three months. He held his last clinic in Whitehorse in 2007. One of the hallmarks of Angus's medical practice was his bedside manner, focusing on patients as individuals, each with their own fascinating life experiences. Shortly after Angus arrived in Canada, he met and married Dr. Ann Skidmore, and they had two daughters, Rowena and Elspeth. Family life included swimming, hiking, bicycling on the Gulf Islands, picking blackberries and travelling frequently to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands where Angus and Ann owned a holiday home. Angus also maintained close ties to England, visiting his family and friends annually.
In retirement, Angus pursued several passions: learning to speak Spanish, travelling extensively with Ann and helping to form the University Clinical Faculty Association in 1998 (now the Doctors of BC Section of Clinical Faculty). He believed passionately in equal partnership between academic researchers and clinical physicians in training the next generation of physicians. His retirement was enriched by the arrival of five grandchildren, Melissa, Luke, Genevieve, Tristan and Madeleine, whom he entertained with his playful antics and mischievous humour.
Angus spent the last seven years of his life living in Victoria with Ann and enjoying frequent visits with his daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and one remaining sibling, Suzi. --Ann Skidmore, Rowena Rae, Elspeth Rae The family of Angus RAE would like you to consider placing a donation to one of the charities listed along the left menu under "donations".