Early years

Dr. Gordon Samuel Fahrni, (April 13, 1887 – November 3, 1995) a recipient of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

, was one of six children born in Gladstone, Manitoba

Gladstone, Manitoba

Gladstone is a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 34 within the boundaries of the Rural Municipality of Westbourne...

 to Christian Fahrni and Priscilla Hyndman.

Biography

Gordon Fahrni graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1911 and ultimately became one of the leaders in the Canadian Medical community. In 1921 he helped to organize a campaign to save the debt-ridden Canadian Medical Association, then served as President of the Canadian Medical Association

Canadian Medical Association

The Canadian Medical Association , with more than 70,000 members, is the largest association of doctors in Canada and works to represent their interests nationally. It formed in 1867, three months after Confederation...

 from 1941-1942. Fahrni was also the founder of the American Goitre Association, and became its President in 1928. He was acknowledged as an expert on goitre

Goitre

A goitre or goiter , is a swelling in the thyroid gland, which can lead to a swelling of the neck or larynx...

 surgery in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, and was also well known as a military physician. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Medical Procurement and Assignment Board for the Royal Canadian Military which helped balance medical services for servicemen abroad and civilians at home. Fahrni retired from the medical practice in 1965 after being a medical practitioner for 54 years. In 1976, Queenston House published Gordon's autobiography, "Prairie Surgeon".

Gordon Fahrni Sr's legacy lived on with his son, Dr. Gordon Fahrni and two nephews, founding director of UBC's School of Rehablilitation, Dr. Brock Fahrni and orthopedic surgeon, Dr. W.H. (Harry) Fahrni.

Fahrni was also an avid outdoorsman and golfer. On his 100th birthday

Centenarian

A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...

, he was featured in the Score golf magazine. When he died in 1995 at the age of 108, Fahrni was Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's longest-lived physician.