Born and raised in Timmins Ontario Dr. Earle Potvin, a long time resident of Shawville, retired from medicine on Jan. 15 at the age of 85. After working for almost 55 years as a surgeon at the Shawville hospital he has decided to hang his scrub cap.

“I wouldn’t change one day,” said Potvin.

When it came time to retire he felt it was the best decision for him. “I decided that I’m at that age, and it’s time to hand the reins over to somebody else. Really, that was fun.”

From a very young age, Potvin knew he . . .

wanted to become a doctor. As he grew up he couldn’t see himself doing anything else. “I just felt very comfortable,” said Potvin.

He did a bachelor of science at St. Patrick’s College in Ottawa, then studied medicine at the University of Ottawa. He started off his career as an intern at the Ottawa Civic hospital, then moved to the Shawville hospital and was a general practitioner for seven years. He later went back to the Ottawa Civic hospital for four years to become a general surgeon.

After seven years in Shawville, the tight knit community grew on him and he decided he wanted to buy a home and raise a family here. “I knew I wanted to stay in Shawville,” said Potvin. “I was quite happy to be in the Pontiac and practice medicine here. I liked the atmosphere. To me, it was home.”

Not only did his career bring him to a place he could feel at home, it was also where he met the love of his life, Bonnie Jean, his wife of 54 years. While working in the polio ward in the 1970s when the disease was rampant, Bonnie Jean was a nurse at the Civic Hospital and the two were introduced by a friend of Potvin who, at the time, was ill with polio.

The two dated for four years. One summer afternoon when a close friend asked Potvin when he would marry her Potvin laughed while recalling the happy memory and said after that conversation, “It wasn’t long before I got a ring and we got married.”

The pair went on to have four boys; William, Derek, Jamie and Jason.

Being a surgeon, is a highly taxing job, and being one of very few surgeons in Shawville, Potvin acknowledged that he worked 24 hours on the clock. But for his family, that was normal, because for them it was all they knew. “They adjusted to it because they didn’t know any different,” Potvin explained.

One Christmas morning Potvin had to leave for the hospital and he told his boys, who were young at the time to stay where they are and not move. “They never moved off the stairs, they stayed right there looking at the presents.” For his family, Potvin’s job was a part of his life, and highlighted that he didn’t realize how different his family structure was until someone new comes in and points it out.

Ever since he became a surgeon Potvin worked at The Shawville hospital. Having been there for a few decades he has contributed to some of the improvements that have been made. He explained that in the 1970s, surgeons did not have a surgery department and seeing as the community needed it, he and other doctors banded together and asked for funding to build a new hospital and renovate the old one. The new hospital allowed surgeons like himself to operate and perform emergency surgeries. It was about 17 years ago since they got their first surgical ward, Potvin recalled.

“You had to be pretty versatile because you never knew what was going to come through the front door and into the emergency room,” he noted.

He described his time as a surgeon as “soul-satisfying” because his job allowed him to help someone who was ill, and after surgery watch them walk out of the hospital in better shape. To Potvin that was a great accomplishment.

He noted that he had opportunities to go work in America or Ottawa but he declined them all. “I just couldn’t leave this town or this region because it had too much to offer me, for raising my family, for hunting and fishing and for becoming close to people you treat,” he told THE EQUITY.

When he wasn’t in the operation room he was teasing and joking around with his staff, which was one of the perks of being in a small town – the ability to create those personal bonds. “You get to know your staff and they’re like your brothers and sisters. You can sympathize with them and laugh with them,” said Potvin. “See, that’s something you don’t get to do much of in life.”

Working for as long as he had, Potvin certainly had many memories to share. One in particular, made him chuckle even before he could get through the story. He recalled a time when he performed a caesarean section, and everything was going well. He made the incision and he took out a healthy baby, but when he put his hand back to remove the placenta, another hand grabbed him. Laughing as he played back the events he said he ended up delivering twins, but continued that although the family wasn’t aware they were having twins, they were thrilled nonetheless with the news.

Potvin cherished his journey, and loved his job, he said, “I can’t go down the street without meeting somebody that says ‘hi doc,’ and to end a career on that note is nice.” As he slowly adjusts to retirement, Potvin might take up golfing and fishing but beyond that, he said “I have no bloody idea.”

Before hanging up the phone, Potvin was asked to sum up his career in a few words and he went on to quote the jazz musician Frank Sinatra and said “I did it my way.” A lyric the perfectly encapsulates his life and career.

Dr. Earle Potvin highlighted that from the moment he stepped foot in Shawville he knew he wanted to build a home and raise a family here.

A young Dr. Earle Potvin, one of few surgeons working at the Shawville hospital.

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