Margaret Grace Norman, MD, FRCP(C) October 19, 1933–May 17, 2015

With the passing this spring of Margaret Norman, MD, FRCP(C), the American Association of Neuropathologists and indeed the worldwide neuropathology community have lost a wonderful scholar and practitioner and a remarkable human being. Pediatric neuropathologist extraordinaire, author, researcher, mentor, ethicist, confidante, friend, and humanitarian, Margaret's example of personal and professional behavior, achievement, and dedication set a standard to which all of us, and those who follow us, should aspire. Perhaps her upbringing predestined her for a lifetime of selfless service. She was born in Japan as the child of United Church missionaries and grew up in Vancouver. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Toronto and worked as a government doctor in Frobisher Bay in the Northwest Territories among the least advantaged of the Canadian population before returning to Toronto where she specialized in pathology and then pediatric pathology at the Hospital for Sick Children. After a further fellowship in pediatric pathology at Columbia in New York, she specialized in pediatric neuropathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital before returning to Toronto as a staff neuropathologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in 1970. She moved to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario at the University of Ottawa as associate professor and chief pathologist where she remained for 6 years before moving to the University of British Columbia where she worked at the British Columbia Children's Hospital, achieving the rank of professor. She remained there until her retirement as professor emeritus in 1996. Margaret made her academic mark with her superlative studies on congenital malformations of the brain. She was a pioneer in pairing her excellent morphologic observations with clinical data and with the then emerging fields of neurogenetics and scanning neuroradiology. This was done in collaboration with Dr Dagmar Kalousek at University of British Columbia with whom she wrote many articles. Her 1995 book, Congenital Malformations of the Brain—Pathological, Embryological, Clinical, Radiological and Genetic Aspects ( 1 ), was awarded the “Best in Clinical Medicine” prize of the American Association of Medical Publishers. I was fortunate enough to write some chapters with her, and it was a privilege and a huge learning experience for me. However, she also wrote widely in the field of pediatric neuropathology, including brain trauma and child abuse, sudden infant death syndrome, genetic diseases of the brain, periventricular leukoencephalopathy, tumors, and infectious diseases. Her publication record in journals, books, chapters, and presentations is truly impressive, especially when one realizes the care taken to produce and write each one perfectly. She was a loyal member of the American and Canadian Associations of Neuropathologists; her presentations and case discussions were things of beauty. She was honored in 2008 by the American Association of Neuropathologists with its Award for Meritorious Contributions to Neuropathology. Margaret Grace Norman, MD, FRCP(C) To try and encapsulate her enormous achievements in clinical diagnostics, teaching, and administration would require more space than allowed, but her curriculum vitae attests to the enormous amount of teaching she did for medical students, residents, and fellows, as well as her stellar role in continuing medical education. She received numerous awards for teaching, but her legacy is best captured by the testimony of those who were fortunate enough to be guided, inspired, and educated by her. She was encouraging and demanding but was generous of her time and kind and considerate to her trainees. Besides her considerable administrative duties at the various hospitals and universities in which she worked, she assumed positions in the numerous societies of which she was a member, as well as on provincial and national panels studying bioethics, child abuse, and neonatal screening. She became nationally acknowledged as an expert on head trauma and abuse in children and was frequently called in as an expert witness. Her passion for justice and her compassion for her patients proved emotionally draining. She had an early interest in bioethics and lectured and published on the subject, writing codes and guidelines for pathologists and laboratory workers. All of these activities were accompanied by her keen intelligence, wide knowledge generously shared, warmth, friendliness, and humor. She was admired and loved by most who worked with or under her. She carried these characteristics into her personal relationships. She was generous in her contributions to various causes and to the needy. She gave freely of her time to all, and she had a wonderful ability when being consulted professionally or for friendly advice to make that person feel that his/her concerns were of prime importance. After retirement, Margaret returned to Toronto in 1998 to be close to family and loving supportive friends. She occupied her time with volunteering and social activities. She sang in a women's choir, loved music and literature, and continued to take a keen interest in everything. Her social values of justice and compassion often prompted outrage at some injustice perpetrated by government, corporations, or individuals. Unfailingly honest, she expected the same of others, but at the same time displayed a tolerance and understanding of human nature, which bordered on the tender. She was also very human with a delightful sense of humor that caught one by surprise with its deviation from what one might have expected. She was also capable of quite unexpected outbursts. On one occasion, while staying overnight at her house on a visit to Vancouver, I woke up to the sound of Margaret, stumbling around muttering unexpected words, not very “sotto voce.” Wondering what catastrophe had occurred I went to help, only to discover that one of her precious cats was egesting hairballs all over the house. I never heard those words again. I remain eternally grateful to her for introducing me in the 1980s to the joys of sushi, to which we were both addicted. She was one of Tojo's first loyal customers in his little hole-in-the wall restaurant, long before his days as an international superstar chef. Margaret is survived by her beloved siblings, brother Dan and sister Nancy. Self-effacing as always, she always told me that they were the smart ones. That would have had to make Dan, a mathematician at Queens, an Einstein. Her nephews and nieces, of whom she was justly proud, adored her, as did countless friends and colleagues. As a community, and as individuals, we are deprived of a wonderful friend. We should take comfort in knowing that all of us were privileged and fortunate to have had her when we did. Rest in peace Margaret.

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