Born in Newfoundland, he was trained at Dalhousie University and served in the Medical Corps, landing with the troops on D-Day. After his return to Halifax he became Head of Urology at Dalhousie and Victoria General Hospital, performed the first retropubic prostatectomy on this continent, and headed Nova Scotia's Medical Commission. His career, which also includes volunteer work in health care, sports and humanitarian concerns, was crowned by his term as Lieutenant Governor of his province from 1973 to 1978.