Zurich remembers doctor who cared for village for 50 years
Dr. Charles Wallace is revered in the town of Zurich.
“Just a really special guy. A person may not always refer to their doctor as more than their doctor, but in this case, he was a friend,” says Mark Heimrich, whose family was Dr. Wallace’s patients, for four generations.
For 50 years, Dr. Charles Wallace was Zurich’s doctor. He cared for generations of families, and saved many lives along the way, including Sherri Penn’s son, who needed Dr. Wallace’s help with a neo-natal infection just days after birth.
“Scott would not have survived had Dr. Wallace not intervened and caught it. Because of that, he is my forever hero,” says Penn.
Born in an army camp in British occupied India in 1929, he trained as a doctor in London in the 1950s. Wallace moved to Canada in 1961, as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force stationed in nearby Centralia.
Dr. Charles Wallace passed away on Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023. He served for 50 years as the doctor in the village of Zurich, Ont. (Source: Family of Dr. Charles Wallace)
Following his three year commission, a delegation of Zurich residents asked Dr. Wallace if he’d consider being the town’s physician. He agreed, and wouldn’t hang up his stethoscope until 2014.
“He was our family doctor. He would, at one time, make house visits. He’d come even on weekends, if necessary. That just doesn’t happen anymore,” says former patient and friend, Julian Bayley.
“It wouldn’t matter what time of the day or night, you could be looked after there by Dr. Wallace,” says Marilyn Heimrich, whose entire family was looked after by Dr. Wallace.
A pioneer, Dr. Wallace would be one of Ontario’s first physicians to employ a nurse practitioner.
But, his forever fingerprints are all over the town he called home, Zurich.
No more than at the Blue Water Rest Home, which he helped found in 1965. He cared for the residents, and then spent some of his final years as a patient himself. A wing of the long term care facility bears his name.
Plaque inside Blue Water Rest Home denoting the Dr. Charles Wallace Hall in Zurich, Ont. on Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
“When I started 10 years ago, he was making rounds, doing house calls to our seniors’ independent living apartments. As well as coming into the rest home and seeing his patients, who became residents,” says Angie Dunn, CEO of the Blue Water Rest Home/West Huron Care Centre. “He knew his patients. He knew them as people, and he also provided their care,” she continues.
At the age of 93, Dr. Wallace passed away on March 18. His family held a private service on March 22, sharing this statement with CTV News:
“We want to express our deepest appreciation for the overwhelming love and admiration that you have shown towards Dr. Wallace since his passing. The numerous messages of condolences and touching stories that you have shared with us are a testament to how much he meant to you. Dr. Wallace had an unwavering commitment to his patients, and he never compromised on the quality of his work. He was also effortlessly charming, greeting everyone with a wink and a smile.
He lived a full and rewarding life, and we are all fortunate to have been a part of it. In addition to being a highly skilled physician and a valued member of this community, he was a cherished husband, father, and grandfather, who we miss so much already.”
Dr. Charles Wallace passed away on Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023. He served for 50 years as the doctor in the village of Zurich, Ont. (Source: Family of Dr. Charles Wallace)
A public memorial is being held this summer, on June 17 at the Hessenland Inn, in honour of Dr. Wallace. Generations of thankful Zurich and area residents will attend to remember the man, who was more than just the town’s doctor, for half a century.
“For 50 years to be around, to serve four generations of Zurich and area families, and everybody called him their friend. That’s how everybody, felt about him,” says Penn.
“The number of hours that man worked. I don’t know if we’ll see that kind of commitment in the future. He was very special, in that way,” says Heimrich.
Dr. Charles Wallace passed away on Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023. He served for 50 years as the doctor in the village of Zurich, Ont. (Source: Family of Dr. Charles Wallace)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.