Colin Campbell M.D.
Colin Campbell, M.D. died peacefully at his home in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, December 1, 2019 at age 92. He was married to the late Catherine Hayden Campbell, Pictou County native. They were married in New Glasgow in 1952 and enjoyed 54 years together before her death in 2006. Dr. Campbell will be buried on June 13, 2023 at 11 a.m. at Abercrombie Cemetery. R. H. Porter has charge.
Dr. Campbell was the son of Rear Adm. Colin Campbell, Sr. and Margaret T. Campbell. He was born in 1927 in Washington, D.C., and as the son of a career naval officer, he lived in several places as a boy, including Hawaii during the Pearl Harbor invasion on December 7, 1941. Dr. Campbell graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco, California, and went on to attend Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. His time at college was temporarily interrupted by military service. He was in bootcamp training to be a Navy medical corpsman when World War II ended, and he returned to Stanford and graduated in 1949. He then went to medical school at McGill University in Montreal, where he would meet Catherine Hayden, who became his wife of 54 years. Dr. Campbell graduated from medical school at McGill in 1953.
After graduating from medical school, Dr. Campbell was a surgical intern at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. before moving to Florida with his wife Catherine. Dr. Campbell then practiced medicine as a general practitioner in private practice serving impoverished patients, with his wife Catherine as his nurse. They later moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he completed a residency program at the Hospital for Women of Maryland to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, followed by a Masters in Education from Temple University in Philadelphia while he was on staff as an Obstetrician-Gynecologist.
Over his many years as a practicing physician, Dr. Campbell practiced the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology in Baltimore, Maryland, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in Huntsville, Alabama. Dr. Campbell served as an Assistant Dean and later Associate Dean at The University of Michigan Medical School, where he practiced medicine and served as an educator and administrator from 1964 - 1978. He served as the Dean of the School of Primary Medical Care at the University of Alabama-Huntsville from 1978 – 1983, and finally as the Dean and Provost, then President, of Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (now NEOMED) in Rootstown, Ohio from 1983 – 1992, where he retired.
Dr. Campbell delivered countless babies in multiple states during his career and he was passionate about excellence in medical education. As a medical educator he positively influenced many medical students and colleagues.
Dr. Campbell was a runner and tennis player in his earlier years. He was also an avid reader and historian, taking particular interest in World War Two and the American Civil War. Upon his retirement in 1992, he was fortunate enough to travel with his wife Catherine to Europe, Asia and Africa, and they often spent summer months together in her native Nova Scotia. He was a thoughtful provider to his children and grandchildren and always maintained an interest in what his grandchildren were doing. Dr. Campbell also loved to play card games, especially bridge, and thanks to a stalwart group of card-playing friends, he was able to continue playing bridge until almost the very end of his life. Dr. Campbell also loved many dogs and cats during his lifetime.
Dr. Campbell was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Catherine Hayden Campbell, by his parents Colin Campbell, Sr. and Margaret T. Campbell, by his half-sister Margaret Hewitt Bolt, and by his niece Leslie Bolt Dennis. Dr. Campbell is survived by his daughters Catherine Campbell Umland (Peter) of Victoria, British Columbia and Janet Kingsland Kemperman (Vince) of Hudsonville, Michigan, and his son Phil Campbell (Karen) of Memphis, along with his grandchildren Anna Umland, Abigail Umland, Christopher Kemperman, Kyle Kemperman, Katie Kemperman, Cameron Kemperman, and MacKenzie Campbell. He is also survived by extended family members in the United States and Canada, including Helen Groves of San Antonio, Texas, the Goshorn and Wright families of Leesburg, Virginia, Jeffrey Dennis of San Diego, California, and Brian Dennis of Altadena, California, Ria and Hinni Martens of Buffalo, New York, Susan MacDougall of Wellesley, Massachusetts, Adam Bell of Germantown, Maryland, Bill Sproull of Mississauga, Ontario, Anne Sproull of New Glasgow, Susan Irvin of Ottawa, Ontario, and Ann Cantley of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
A memorial service for Dr. Campbell was held at Church of the Holy Communion, Episcopal, 4645 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, on January 3, 2020. Dr. Campbell will be buried alongside his wife Catherine at Abercrombie Cemetery in Nova Scotia, Canada on June 13, 2023 at 11 a.m. with Rev. Gary Sinclair presiding. A link to a recording of the service is below.
Dr Colin Campbell Graveside Service