Charles M. Ballem

DR. C. MILLER BALLEM 1916 - 2012 Dr. Charles Miller Ballem has died in Texas after nearly a century of gracing his patients, friends, and family with his kind and humble presence. Miller was born in Prince Edward Island on November 24, 1916, and raised in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. He was an enthusiastic boxer, rugby player and runner in his youth. The critical moment in his academic career was when Millers father, Dr. John Cedric Ballem of New Glasgow, brushed aside the Deans discouraging remarks not to waste his money on financing a second attempt by Miller at first year medical school. It is my money, my son and my decision. Miller graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie in the class of January 1943 and joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps as a physician. He married Lieutenant Gwyneth Marguerite Taylor on D Day and thereafter was posted with the South Saskatchewan Regiment to France, Holland, and the Battle of Hochwald Forest. His mobile medical aid unit was set up behind the front lines to deliver the initial medical care to wounded soldiers before transport to the medical centres. He was demobilized as a Major and returned to civilian life. His post-graduate studies in gastroenterology in Philadelphia comprised the beginning of his distinguished career in that specialty. By the early 1950s he, Gwen, and their two young children, Peter and Marcia, were living in Montreal. There, the vibrant medical community at McGill University and the Royal Victoria Hospital drew him in and kept him fully engaged for the next 25 years. During that time he earned a further degree from McGill, became a professor of clinical medicine there, practiced as an attending physician at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and maintained a medical practice of his own. During the early 1960s he travelled to Japan to consult in the design and development of improved gastroenterological diagnostic tools for specialists in his field. He was involved in the establishment of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterologists, assisting in the development of this emerging specialty. One of his passions was the creation of a first class retirement centre which could provide sophisticated medical care and he was involved in the design and development of Pierrefonds Manor north of Montreal. He enjoyed respite and recreation at the Royal Montreal Golf Club and he remained an avid, although admittedly not particularly talented, golfer throughout his life. In 1972 he married Heather Large and welcomed her children, Timothy and Jocelyne Large, into his family. As he was approaching his sixtieth birthday, Miller responded to the siren calls of recruiters and moved to Mesquite, Texas on the outskirts of Dallas. He thereby escaped the winters of Montreal, which he had never grown to love, and enhanced his access to the golf course. He brought to Mesquite his love of teaching fellow physicians, his dedication to his patients and his amazing stamina. He carried on with his professional practice as a gastroenterologist into his nineties. In fact Dr. B. , as he was known to many, was still available for informal consultations with his fellow residents in the retirement home he lived in until his last days. There, he once again won his way into the hearts of all who had the pleasure of knowing him. In his final act, so characteristic of Millers life of service to the medical community, he bequeathed his body to medical science. Eventually, in accordance with his wishes, his remains will be returned to Nova Scotia, to rest with those of his family in his beloved Pictou County. Miller is survived by both wives, all of his children and their respective wives, husbands and children, and two great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held in Texas on Sunday September 23, 2012 at which Miller s life and accomplishments will be celebrated. Millers family thanks his many friends in the Texas medical community for the excellent care they gave him. Special appreciation goes to his great friend Jo An McKee to whom all who loved Miller are forever grateful.