Jim Ballard MD:  

Hi my name is Jim Ballard. I was born in Dunnville and grew up in Dunnville, attending Dunnville Public School (1944-1951) and Dunnville District High School (1951-1956), and president of the student council 1954-'55. Upon graduating from High School in 1956 I entered McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, graduating in 1960 with my BA, sciences and Pre-Med. I then attended Western University, London, Ontario where I completed four years of Medicine followed by a rotating internship at Victoria Hospital, London Ontario. I have always wanted to be a doctor since my early years. I was inspired by people like Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa; some of the great surgeons like Dr. Michael DeBakey , the renowned Cardiac surgeon from Texas, Jonas Salk, Drs. Banting and Best ~ discoverers of insulin at the Univ. of Toronto, and my own family doctor in Dunnville. I owe my present life as a doctor to the early teaching I received in my home town, Dunnville. The teachers were superb and their efforts will always be remembered. I couldn't be happier than I am now. Family: I am married to Peg and we have had 5 children : Jennifer (born in 1964), Julie (¿65), Robin (¿66), Jeffrey (Jeff) (¿67) and Jill (¿74). Jennifer was born while I was still in Medical School and Peggy was nursing at Victoria Hospital, London. Jennifer¿s siblings were all born in St. Catharines, Ontario, where I practiced Medicine up until 1985. Looking back now, those were to be some of the happiest, fun-loving years we have ever spent all together. We were very close to one another in spite of a heavy workload in Medicine. I think we made every moment count and every holiday mean something special. We went on ski holidays to Aspen, Vail and Vermont; and to nearby places such as Kissing Bridge in N.Y. state, Collingwood etc. We even drove the whole family to New Orleans for 3 weeks ~ it was so hot 110°F., that the children decided to stay in the Hotel and swim. We went somewhere every year ~ Disneyworld, the Caribbean (Jamaica, Barbados, Europe, etc. together). My wife, Peg and I were fortunate enough to ski most winters in the Alps ~ Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy or in the Colorado Rockies ~ Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge etc. Our lives were full and we made the most of our time with each other. We moved to Vancouver BC in 1985, where we would be closer to the mountains, for skiing and my work offered more time off, to be with the family. We missed Ontario for a long time and still do. We are fortunate to hav...Expand for more