Remembering alumnus Donald Medhurst

The Faculty of Law is saddened to learn of the passing of Donald Medhurst, ‘49 BA, ‘50 LLB, who passed away on July 11 in Calgary. At the time of his passing, he was the oldest surviving retired justice in Alberta.

Medhurst served in the Royal Canadian Air Force until his discharge in 1945. He then earned both an arts and a law degree from the University of Alberta, following in the footsteps of his two older brothers who were also U of A alumni (his brother Neil graduated from the faculty with an LLB in 1941 and his brother Charles graduated with a BSc in 1940). While studying at the university, Medhurst was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

Medhurst was admitted to the bar of Alberta in 1951 and began his legal career at Calgary’s Fenerty law firm. In 1958, Medhurst and his family moved to Medicine Hat where he became a partner at Stone Pritchard law firm (later Stone, Pritchard, Medhurst, Lerner and Wilkins). In 1974, his family returned to Calgary where he was appointed to the District Court of Southern Alberta. 

In 1979 the Supreme and District courts of Alberta merged, and Medhurst became a Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta and a member of the Court of Appeal of Alberta. He also held a position as a Judge of the Northwest Territories.

In 1989, he became the first chairman of the Copyright Board of Canada, and a decade later — upon reaching mandatory retirement age — he moved to a part-time position as a member of the Canada Pension Appeals Board. He fully retired in 2009.

Described as a “gentle man and a gentleman” by his family and friends, Medhurst will be remembered for his vast knowledge, quick wit and his community spirit.