Dr. John Hunter Fund

It wasn’t every day that Dr. John Hunter was able to join his daughter Victoria when she walked her son to kindergarten in the morning. As a busy obstetrician and gynecologist and Chief of Staff at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby, Dr. Hunter was on call 24/7, so it was a rare treat to have him part of their daily routine. 

But that morning walk, 20 years ago, was memorable for another reason. 

“He easily delivered 50 per cent of the children in that kindergarten line,” Victoria recalled. “He was a big part of the community in Grimsby.”

That’s why, after Dr. Hunter’s death in 2016, Victoria chose to honour her father by establishing the Dr. John Hunter Memorial Fund with the Niagara Community Foundation. Victoria, who is part of the community foundation’s Grimsby Community Fund committee, already knew the broad impact that a fund managed by the Niagara Community Foundation could have on a community or cause.

It also does something else. It keeps Dr. Hunter’s memory alive in the community he served while giving back to the place Victoria and her husband Andrew had the good fortune of raising their boys.

“People stop me and tell me how much they loved my Father and how much he helped them through difficult pregnancies,” Victoria said. “That always warms my heart. He cared deeply about his patients and they were always his priority.

The fund continues to look after those for whom Dr. Hunter cared. The memorial fund will support youth mental health care at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

“It’s also for the children he delivered and the young adults they have become, as well as for the next generation of children who’ve been having a difficult time, especially through COVID,” Victoria said. “I thought this fund would be a special and useful way to pay it forward. It’s keeping the money close to home but also taking care of the youth and our own Grimsby community.