Dr. Stephen O’Rourke is the grandfather of Crestwood student Ella Lee-O’Rourke. Dr. O’Rourke originally hails from Ireland, where he grew up on a farm during the wartime years. Blessed with academic ability, his parents made sure he attended school, and Dr. O’Rourke’s education in both public and high school came courtesy of the Christian Brothers. That was followed by his time at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, where the young Stephen enjoyed time in the big city while he pursued his medical studies. During this time the Cold War was heating up, and Stephen came across an ad in the newspaper while doing his internship, one placed by the Canadian Forces. Canada was involved in the Korean War at the time, and was in need of medical personnel. Stephen made the leap and enlisted, quickly becoming a captain in the Canadian army. He was dispatched to Canada, where he learned that the first part of his three year stint would be spent in the Arctic. He went north to Fort Churchill, Manitoba, where a new hospital had been built, and that became his introduction to life in Canada. Stephen spent two years there, looking after the indigenous peoples and the Mounties and everyone else who needed his care. From there he took an eventful trip to Ireland, courtesy of the American military, and that was followed by his deployment to Korea, where he cared for Canadian and Australian troops as the Korean War reached its conclusion. The 1953 truce saw his return to Canada, where his discharge from the army led to work at various hospitals in Toronto, including St. Mike’s and Sunnybrook. Along the way Stephen married and raised a family.
We first met Stephen at the Crestwood Veterans’ Breakfast in May 2018, and that was followed by an interview at his residence in June 2018, where Mr. Masters and four senior students spoke to him, courtesy of his daughter Kit.
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