A lovely remembrance to Dad in the Hamilton Spectator by Danielle Wong. Thanks to this piece, I was touched to see many people at the memorial for Dad in sun dresses and with splashes of colour. He would have loved that! Thank you!
Dr. Frederick Hargreave was an internationally renowned respirologist who changed the way asthma is diagnosed.
He was also a man who cut his neighbours’ lawns and got up to dance when he heard jazz music.
Dr. Freddy Hargreavetegrity
The asthma pioneer’s family and colleagues remembered the 72-year-old as a humble scientist who genuinely cared for his patients and maintained his integrity for the four decades he worked in his field.
“He loved what he did. He had a social conscience,” his wife, Alix, said Friday.
“He was never bought out by any pharmaceutical company … the work that he did was as accurate as he could get it. He didn’t have the capacity to lie.”
Hargreave, who was known as Freddy, died suddenly of a heart attack on June 15.
During his career, the McMaster University professor emeritus came up with what is now the standard for deciding whether people with symptoms of asthma actually have the disease, said Hargreave’s longtime colleague and former student, Dr. Paul O’Byrne.
His development of the methacholine challenge test to more precisely diagnose asthma became a standard that is now used around the world, he said.
O’Bryne said his former supervisor also developed a new method of collecting secretions in airways about 15 years ago, adding that the non-invasive process, known as sputum induction, is widely used to determine what kind of inflammation a patient has.
“He was a genius. I think I can say … in the past 30 or 40 years, he has been the most influential clinical scientist in asthma research anywhere in the world,” said O’Byrne, who is the director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and McMaster.
Hargreave rarely lost his cool, but could not tolerate dishonesty or when people misrepresented data, O’Byrne said. “He was unflinchingly honest.”
Hargreave, who was recruited to McMaster in 1969 after his medical training at the University of Leeds, England, was one of the founders of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health.tory O’Byrne and Hargreave’s family say the asthma pioneer had a passion for his patients and made sure he listened to them.
“He was what you would call a good friend to many people,” Alix, 69, said. “And he was my best friend.”
Most of their neighbours, in fact, did not know about his influential work. “They just knew him as someone who comes to cut their grass,” his wife said, adding he had cut three people’s lawns the week before he died.
Daughter Erica said that during her university years in Victoria, B.C., her father would visit her whenever he was on the West Coast for a conference. For three years, they attended the annual TerriVic Jazz Festival, where Hargreave would get up and dance with her.
The researcher also chose special activities or traditions unique to each of his two daughters and son. For Erica, 32, it was sundresses.
After Erica got the news about her father, a cousin helped her pack for the trip home from Vancouver. Erica later saw in her suitcase a “series” of sundresses her father had bought for her over the years.
“It was that moment of seeing that suitcase and seeing all those sundresses and wanting to burst into tears and at the same time thinking, in some ways, that’s kind of fitting if, at the funeral, I’m wearing one of the sundresses he bought me,” she said.
A celebration of Hargreave’s life will be held at Christ’s Church Cathedral on James Street North at 2 p.m. Thursday, followed by a reception.
It is with great sadness that I have to notify all of the untimely death of Dr. Freddy Hargreave. Dr. Hargreave was truly one of the giants of respiratory medicine over the last 40 years and helped change our thinking about the treatment of serious diseases like asthma, chest infections and COPD. In doing so he hugely improved the care of patients throughout the world and his work improved many lives. He taught many students and fellows from many different countries – many of whom returned home and became internationally recognized in their own right. He made our hospital world famous – but more importantly, he lived the Mission every single minute in his work. He cared for individual patients in an exemplary manner with unfailing courtesy, dedication, humility, kindness and, most particularly, in bringing the challenges they faced each day to the research community to find better ways of relieving their suffering.
Our sympathies go to his family. May he rest in peace.
Dr. David A. Higgins
President, St. Joseph’s Healthcare
A lovely tribute to Dad and his work, thanks to McMaster University:
Dr. Frederick (Freddy) Hargreave, a professor emeritus of McMaster University who led international
Dr. Frederick (Freddy) Hargreave, a professor emeritus of McMaster Universit
advancements in the care of asthma patients, died yesterday. He was 72.
Hargreave joined McMaster University in 1969 in the early days of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine after his medical training at the University of Leeds, U.K. and work as a physician in that city and London.
His studies in asthma changed the way the disease is diagnosed, as he developed innovative tests to measure airway responsiveness and airway inflammation and make decisions on clinical treatments. Hargreave was a leader in the change in focus from just treating asthma symptoms to preventing and controlling them. He was known as an excellent teacher, and he trained many of the world’s current leaders in asthma research.
Hargreave was also one of the founders of the clinic which has become the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health at McMaster and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, growing it to become a world centre for investigation and treatment of asthma and chronic respiratory diseases. Respiratory disease impacts one in five Canadians.
A former student of Hargreave was Paul O’Byrne, now chair of the Department of Medicine of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.
“Freddy Hargreave will be deeply missed. His scholarship, mentorship and collegiality were legendary and his passion for clinical care, particularly for patients with difficult to treat asthma, was quite unique.”
John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences, said: “Before I met Dr. Hargreave, I had heard about his remarkable research that had improved the lives of many people across Canada and beyond. Knowing him, my appreciation grew for his kindness, gentleness and remarkable modesty. It was an honour to know him for many years.”
Hargreave retired in 2004, but he had continued to be involved in research studies. He leaves his wife Alix and three children.
A memorial service will take place in Christ’s Church Cathedral, 252 James Street North, Hamilton at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, 2011 followed by a reception to celebrate his life.
I spent 6 months at the Firestone in 1998 doing asthma research under Freddy.
I came from the Netherlands and Freddy had arranged research projects and a small salary for me (even though I was a student at the time). His door was always open if I had any questions.
I did always smile when I looked at his shorts and long socks as he would always wear that no matter what weather.
I still remember Freddy hosting a big office party at his house on the night that the final Seinfeld episode aired in May 1998. I remember being impressed with 2 things that night: the enormous backyard and the fact he opened the TV to let those of us hooked to Seinfeld watch it. He was very laid back.
I wish I could have paid my respect by attending the funeral but unfortunately I found out too late.
All the best to the family in dealing with this loss at this difficult time. May you enjoy many more wonderful stories how Freddy touched all of our lives!
