Head and shoulders image of Dr. Michael J. Tyrrell, Pediatric Cardiology, College of Medicine.

Bio/Historical Note: Born on 14 April 1936 in Oxford, England, Dr. Michael John Tyrrell was the son of a veterinary surgeon and a dispenser (pharmacist). His father joined the government veterinary service, which moved them around the country. They arrived in London just as World War II was starting, and at the beginning of the Blitz. Doris, Michael and his new baby brother Peter were evacuated first to live above his grandparents shop in industrial Blackburn, and then to the seaside near Blackpool. When the initial bombing seemed to have stopped, they moved back to London just in time for the start of the V1 and V2 unmanned terror weapons which Hitler unleashed on London. The family slept under a reinforced steel canopy, the Anderson shelter, which protected them when a flying bomb exploded across the road. Dr. Tyrrell obtained his medical degree from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, University of London, in 1959. He completed post-graduate training in cardiology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. He served as senior registrar in Cardiology at Papworth, Cambridge, UK. In 1967 he emigrated with his family firstly to the US where he served as an instructor and fellow, completing a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Harvard University in Boston. Dr. Tyrrell then moved to Canada, completing a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Starting in 1970, he practiced pediatric cardiology at Royal University Hospital for 42 years. He was the only pediatric cardiologist in Saskatchewan for many years. Dr. Tyrrell retired in 2002 and was named Professor Emeritus status. He was honored by being named as Teacher of the Year at the College of Medicine for two years. Michael Tyrrell died on Christmas Day, 2023 in Calgary.