Memorable Manitobans: Gordon Rosevear Cumming (1929-2020)

Physician.

Born at Winnipeg on 2 March 1929, son of Gordon Clark Cumming (1895-1954) and Marion Rosevear (1901-1983), grandson of Robert Boyd Cumming, after graduating from the Royal Roads Naval College in 1947, he attended the Manitoba Medical College, graduating in 1953. He interned at the Winnipeg General Hospital then completed a pathology fellowship at the University of Toronto Banting Institute, a residency in medicine at the Winnipeg General Hospital, and a cardiology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic.

He returned to Winnipeg in 1958 as Head of the Cardiology Section of the Children's Hospital of Winnipeg, holding the position for 24 years. In 1981, he joined the Great-West Life Assurance Company as Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer, serving for 29 years while continuing a part-time medical practice at the Winnipeg Clinic, until retirement at the age of 87. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Physiology at the University of Manitoba.

He and wife Patricia Ann McKnight (1929-1963) had three daughters and a son. He had three more sons with his second wife Sarah Dorothy Rempel (1937-1996). He served as President of the Manitoba Speed Skating Association, President of the Canadian Association of Sports Sciences, President of the Canadian Life Insurance Medical Officers Association, and President of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Manitoba. He was a physician for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Football Club, 1976 Canadian Olympic Team, and 1979 Manitoba Marathon. He was a member of the Winnipeg Winter Club and St. Charles Country Club. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (2015) and he received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977).

He died at Winnipeg on 18 July 2020.

Sources:

Obituary [Patricia Anne Cumming], Winnipeg Free Press, 4 July 1963, page 9.

Obituary [Marion Cumming], Winnipeg Free Press, 12 October 1983, page 56.

Obituary [Sarah Dorothy Cumming], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 November 1996, page 22.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 July 2020.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Marianne Cumming for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 23 October 2020

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!