W.G. LEWITT
Wilfred George Lewitt was born in St. Catharines, Ontario on Christmas Day, 1932. He was the youngest of four children and the only boy. From an early age, Wilf understood the importance of responsibility and caring for others. These were lifelong traits of Wilf’s.
After finishing high school in St. Catharines, Wilf studied Engineering and Business at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1956. Later, while working for Chrysler, he completed his Masters of Automotive Engineering at the Chrysler Institute. He obtained his MBA from the University of Detroit studying part-time at night.
After leaving Chrysler, he returned to Canada working for W.R. Grace’s Cryovac Division before joining MDS Inc. in its infancy. He and the founders grew MDS Inc from a start-up Ontario based laboratory business, to a successful global health and life sciences organization. Wilf started as President and retired as Chairman over 30 years later.
Wilf was always a believer that technology was a medical game changer. He believed that business investing in entrepreneurial breakthrough ventures could be meaningful contributors to advancements in global health. In the 1980s Wilf actively took part in shaping the future of Ontario healthcare through his role on the Premier’s Health Council.
Wilf was always a quiet philanthropist. He was a proud supporter of many worthy causes and he was willing to anonymously support those in need. Wilf and his wife Anne were early supporters of MaRS, and have been lifetime supporters of the U of T Faculty of Engineering.
As a father, he was remarkably wise, caring and fully supportive of his three children and all of their endeavours. In his free time, Wilf was an avid athlete who had a love of tennis, skiing and golf.
He was a proud Canadian.