Obituary of Frantisek Frank Subrt

SUBRT, Frantisek “Frank”, M.D., Ph.D – 81, Halifax. It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Frank Subrt, on Friday, June 3, 2011. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 55 years, Marta; sons, Peter and Paul; daughters in-law, Petra and Carmela; grandchildren, Kevin, Yvette, Gianni and Noelle; sister in-law, Stanislava; nephew, Jiri; niece, Martina and many dear friends. Frank was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic) on January 10, 1930. He was the son of Antonin and Barbora Subrt. He graduated from the Prague Conservatory of Music and the Academy of Music Art (AMU) with honours. He played his beloved flute in many top orchestras including the National Theatre in Prague. He also played as soloist guest in many international cities. His specialty was playing music by Mozart, Czech and French composers. He studied medicine at Charles University in Prague and graduated as a doctor of medicine in 1955. He obtained his Ph.D in Pharmacology in 1960 at the same university. While he was doing his Ph.D he worked at the same time as a medical doctor in Accident and Emergency (E.R). In 1960 he left Czechoslovakia and took a teaching post at the University of Baghdad, Iraq. He returned to Czechoslovakia in 1962 where he worked as a Family Doctor (part time) and continued specialist studies, including Stomatology. After a few years, he and his wife left Czechoslovakia to work in Iraq again and later in Germany. After the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, he decided not to return to his native country, but to emigrate his family to Canada in 1969. He did a one year internship at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and a one year residency at the Pathology Institute of Dalhousie University, here in Halifax. He loved Nova Scotia and decided to make it a permanent home for him and his family. He opened his family practice in Timberlea, where he worked full time as a Family Physician until 1990 when he suffered two heart attacks. Following this, he decided to reduce his work load and continued to work part time as a locum physician. He loved his work as a family physician; he had an excellent relationship with his patients and kept on working part time until last year when he finally had to stop due to poor health. He was a very active and hard working person who enjoyed life. He loved and greatly enjoyed music and medicine. He loved travelling and studying languages. He was passionate about sailing, fishing and camping. He had an incredible knowledge of world history and geography. Most of all, he was an excellent husband, father and grandfather – he will be greatly missed. We as a family would like to extend a special thank you to his Family Physician, Dr. D. Campbell, Dr. A. Kew (Hematology Specialists), RN Carol Gordon (Oncology Nurse Practitioner) and to all the wonderful staff (Hematology/Oncology) on the 4th floor of the Victoria General Hospital. Frank’s last wishes were to have a small, private family service here in Halifax and to have a memorial service in his native city of Prague at a later date this year. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Victoria General Hospital or the charity of your choice. Words of comfort may be sent to the family by visiting, www.walkerfh.com