Martin SPOOR

SPOOR, Martin - A wonderful husband, father, son, brother, friend, and doctor, died tragically on June 4, 2007 while helping others. He knew from the age of 12 years that he wanted to be a cardiac surgeon and he determinedly achieved that goal. His wife, Susan, and his three children know him as an amazing and loving husband and father. Susan and Martin loved each other and life together, and along with their children had a marvelous time traveling, playing, skating, biking, listening to and playing music, reading, hiking, swimming, and so much more. His parents (Johan and Susan) remember him as an accomplished and active little boy who grew up to be a thoughtful and caring son. His brother Thijs has been his close confidante and friend who despite great geographical distances has always managed to be there. His friends and colleagues know him as one of the most wonderful, thoughtful, intelligent and understated men they had met, who had a great sense of humour and a generosity of spirit. Martin was born in Media, Pennsylvania on March 14, 1970. He then spent several years in Holland with his family before moving to Canada where he grew up in Calgary, Alberta. His childhood and adolescence was full of academic achievements, outdoor pursuits, and music. Following an undergraduate degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, he began his medical career as a medical student at the University of Calgary. He also met Susan, a fellow medical student and a native of Kingston, there and they became engaged on a canoe trip a year later. They married in the Rocky Mountains in l996 and started their residencies in Edmonton at the University of Alberta. Martin's dream of becoming a cardiac surgeon was fulfilled when he completed his residency training in 2001. He also became a father and he managed to balance family life with a busy medical career beautifully. The hospital was the site of many family celebrations when he was on-call, but the hospital rarely intruded on his family. Martin has been so proud of his children's every accomplishment, big and small. He would do whatever needed to be done to be at their preschool graduations, music recitals, school presentations, sports games, and bedtimes. He played with them outside and inside, and was the official “runner” as each as learned to ride a bike. Every winter since living in Edmonton, Martin has built an ice rink for the kids. The first was small - just the right size for a 1 and 3 year-old. As the children have grown, so have the rinks and their sophistication. Now they have boards and sealed liners. Martin dreamed of floodlights and zambonis in the future! Martin touched many lives through his work as a surgeon. He was committed to providing the best care for each patient and he did so with compassion and without hesitation. He worked on the transplant team because he believed in the great work that was done to save the lives of some of the most ill patients. He was not a hero because he died doing this, he was a hero because he did it. Martin made every person a better person just by being with them. His gentleness, thoughtfulness, generosity, genuine caring, and understated sense of humour immediately drew people to him and everyone who met him liked him and remembered him. Stories abound from his lifetime of his compassion, enthusiasm, talent, humour, and selflessness. No matter how chaotic and stressful life would become around him, he never forgot his “please” and “thank you” and he was unflappable. One of his colleagues described him as “devoid of ego” and he was embodiment of the best of why someone chooses a medical career along with the understated nature of someone who was truly and genuinely interested in others. His family, friends and colleagues miss him terribly, and are devastated at the loss of a wonderful person too soon in life. Condolences may be expressed through the family's website listed below. Visitors to the website will also find more information about Martin. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Spoor Children's Fund accessible through the website. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/spoorfamily 10698254