Peter John Fowler died peacefully in London, Ontario on November 16, 2022 surrounded by family.
Pete was the eldest of the three children of Jack and Ruth Fowler of Woodstock, Ontario. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years Libby; his children Tim (Jacquie), Megan, Cameron (Tori) and Peter; his grandchildren Madeleine, Ryley, Grace, Henry, Max and Poppy; and his brother Ken. He was predeceased by his sister Jaclyn. Much to his great pleasure, Pete’s grandchildren lovingly call him “Doccie”, and he responded enthusiastically to each of them.
Raised in Woodstock, Pete attended Woodstock Collegiate Institute where he played football and basketball. However, his favourite sport was swimming and by age 16 he was selected to Canada’s Pan American team and achieved a silver medal in 1959. It is clear to all that Pete’s real achievement at WCI was meeting Libby and securing an invitation to the Sadie Hawkins dance. The rest is history.
Following his graduation from Western’s medical school in 1964 Pete spent time at both the University of Michigan and Duke. Dr. Jack Kennedy, his long-time mentor, then invited him into his practice and Pete became the first resident in the newly minted sport medicine program.
Pete Fowler’s distinguished career as an international leader in orthopaedic sport medicine earned him acclaim as a clinician, researcher, educator, and team builder. He was the Founder and Medical Director of the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic at Western University in London, Canada from 1982 until his retirement in 2007. He worked tirelessly to form a collaborative and integrated team of experts and disciplines. Throughout his career Pete’s primary interest was the management and prevention of activity related injuries of the knee. His colleagues remember him for his honesty, integrity, strength and passion for the advancement of care and patient outcomes. This led him to author ninety-six peer reviewed publications and forty–three book chapters. Clinically, Pete’s many thousands of patients have ranged from weekend warriors to international athletes, from jumping the boards at London’s Stoneybrook Sports Association games, to caring for professional athletes such as Todd Brooker, Steve Yzerman and Eric Lindros. He taught more than 77 Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellows from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, in addition to countless residents and medical students. Pete cared deeply about them as physicians and, more importantly, as people. Many considered him to be a second father. As a true testament to the shared learning and transformational impact of their time spent with Pete in London, this international collection of now renowned medical leaders call themselves the Fowler Fellows. With this group and others, Pete was known to be economical and colourful with his words, while still being clear in his meaning. All those close to Pete knew what not to put in chicken salad.
During his career, Pete held leadership positions in numerous international and national professional societies. Among these: first President of the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine; President of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, one of only three Canadians to have done so; President of the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine.
Pete’s numerous honours and special awards include: the Award of Merit of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (“Mr. Sports Medicine for North America”) and an honorary FRCS (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons) Dublin, Ireland. In 2008 Western University granted him an honorary Doctor of Science.
In 2018 Pete became a member of the Order of Canada.
A former international athlete, Pete served as a volunteer orthopaedic consultant to the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico and Chief Medical Officer for Canadian teams at many national and international sporting events including the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand in 1990 and Malaysia in 1998. In addition, he was consultant to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Canadian National Rowing team and Medical Advisor to the Commonwealth Games Association of Canada and the Canadian Amateur Swimming Association.
Pete was proud to be inducted into the Woodstock Sports Hall of Fame, the London Sports Hall of Fame, the Western University Football Wall of Champions and the Western University Swimming Hall of Fame.
Upon his retirement from Western in 2007 Pete was recruited as Chief Medical Officer of ASPETAR, The Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, in Doha, Qatar for a three year term. While in Qatar, he was named Associate Professor at Weil Cornell Medical School.
Pete enjoyed many decades of happy memories with family and friends at Devils Glen and in Temagami, with Steak of the Month pals and with his global network.
Pete’s life was bold, colourful and impactful and shaped by the driving belief that through the power of sport and medicine Western, London, and Canada deserved a prominent place on the world stage. He did his best to make that happen. And he was Purple and Proud until the end.
A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.
For those who wish a donation to London Community Foundation would be appreciated by the family.