BY JANET GIBSON
A tall, humble man who was loved by his patients and respected by his fellow doctors died peacefully on Sept. 25 at Sudbury Regional Hospital. Dr. Stephen Kosar, 75, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma two years ago, said his son Dr. Stephen Kosar Jr. His condition worsened this past spring, but he spent only 10 days in the hospital.
Stephen Sr. was born in Toronto in 1933. He grew up with one brother — Eugene — in Toronto and, for three years, in Windsor. Stephen Sr. took violin lessons and was so smart he skipped a grade. “He taught me to be self-reliant,” Eugene said.
He met his wife Barbara while attending medical school at the University of Toronto. They married in 1957. A year later, they moved to Sudbury where Stephen Sr. had been hired by INCO to be the company doctor. The couple lived in Garson for a year then moved into a house in Coniston that had a doctor’s office attached.
“I always admired my father for being a good doctor,” Stephen Jr. said. “I always liked the way people seemed to respect him.” Patients brought him gifts, he said, such as baskets of blueberries and baked goods.
When the province rolled out the Ontario Health Insurance Plan in 1963, Stephen Sr. opened a family practice in Sudbury. A lot of his former patients stayed with him. Others followed. He retired in 1993. But he stayed in the profession as a surgical assistant.
“He did it because he enjoyed doing it,” Stephen Jr. said. “I used to tease him it was for beer money.”
Stephen Sr. and Barbara had five sons — Stephen, 50, Bill, 49, Paul, 47, Andrew, 45, and Greg, 44. He loved his garden and taking his family on camping trips in their station wagon and tent trailer.
“He never forced me to get into medicine,” said Stephen Jr., an ophthalmologist. “He just told me to do the best you can in whatever you do.”
When Stephen Jr. was 14, his father snuck him and his brother Bill into the operating room where an appendix operation was being performed. Stephen Sr. was worried the boys might pass out. On the contrary, Stephen Jr. said, “We thought it was so cool to watch that.”
Years later, when Stephen Jr. was doing an operation, his father assisted him. “It was the first time in my life I could tell him what to do,” he said.
Stephen Sr., a Ukrainian, served his community in countless ways. He was on the building committee for St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, where he served as parish council president. He was also on the board of the Sudbury Ukrainian Seniors Centre.
Never idle, he played an active role in the education and medical sectors. He was medical staff president at Sudbury General and Memorial Hospitals. He was elected a delegate to the Ontario Medical Association Council and was awarded an honorary lifetime membership in the Ontario Medical Association. He was also on the board of regents of the University of Sudbury.
“Steve Sr. was a good friend to all who was missed by his medical staff colleagues from the first day of his retirement,” said Sudbury Regional Hospital chief of staff Dr. Chris McKibbon.
“He will be remembered as a virtual icon of collegiality, compassion, good humour and commitment. All of us who practise medicine could only hope to be remembered as fondly and affectionately by our colleagues and our patients as Steve was.”
Stephen Sr. is survived by his wife, children, brother, grandchildren, nephews and nieces.
