Dr. Geoffrey Sumner-Smith, retired OVC faculty member and University Professor Emeritus, passed away Tuesday, October 18, 2016.
Sumner-Smith, MSc, DVSc (Liv), BVSc, FRCV, received his veterinary training in Liverpool, England and after spending a few years in practice in England, came to the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph in 1967. He specialized in small animal surgery and small animal orthopedics.
Among
his many accomplishments, Sumner-Smith founded the World Veterinary Orthopaedic Congress held by the European Society of Veterinary Orthopaedics and Traumatology and Veterinary
Orthopedic Society every four years. He was also Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of the
journal, Veterinary and Comparative
Orthopaedics and Traumatology (VCOT).
He was a close friend and mentor to OVC grad Dr. Cathy Hooper, Glendale Veterinary Hospital. “He was a very caring, compassionate friend who I was blessed to know,” says Hooper.
Sumner-Smith is survived by his two children, Martin and Maxine, and beloved grandchildren.
A memorial is planned for Saturday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Borealis Grille and Bar, 1388 Gordon Street, Guelph.
Dr. Geoffrey Sumner-Smith, second from the left, back row, with
colleagues on OVC’s front steps in March 1993.
Back row: Drs. A. Binnington, G. Sumner-Smith, P. Morgan, D. Holmberg
and L. Braz-Ruivo;
Middle row: Drs. S. Platt, A. Farmer and S. Halperin;
Seated: Drs. K. Vargha, D. Paley, G. Bouck, H. Sukhiani.