Dr. Henry George Friesen

With great sadness mixed with Christian hope we announce that on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Dr. Henry George Friesen, age 90, passed away peacefully at Saint Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg.

Left to cherish his memory are his beloved wife of 57 years Joyce (nee MacKinnon), daughter Janet, son Mark (Maryann); and grandsons, Zachary and Samuel. He will also be lovingly remembered by his brother John (Ingrid), sister-in law Elsie and brothers-in-law, Stuart (Evelyn) MacKinnon, and Walter Luedemann, as well as numerous relatives, friends and colleagues.

Henry was predeceased by his parents, Frank and Agnes Friesen, and older brothers, Frank and David.

Henry was born in Morden, Manitoba July 31, 1934. He was raised in a family with strong Christian faith which he made his own at a young age. His father was the pastor of the Mennonite Brethren church in Morden, and baptised 3 of his boys, Frank, David and Henry at the same outdoor service in a nearby farmer’s pond. Education was also an important value in their family. As such Henry and David boarded together in Winnipeg to attend Mennonite Brethen Colligate Institute for high school. Henry went on to study medicine at the University of Manitoba graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Medicine and MD degree in 1958. He completed his post-graduate training as an endocrinologist in New England Medical Centre in Boston, Massachusetts.

It was during his time in Boston that he met Joyce Mackinnon a nurse in training from Halifax who would become the love of his life. Both he and Joyce attended Park Street Church led by the thoughtful evangelical pastor Harold Ockenga. They also made renewed commitments to Christ during a Billy Graham evangelistic service in Boston. Henry returned to Canada in 1965 to become assistant professor of Medicine at McGill University for 8 years. During this time, he made the groundbreaking discovery of human prolactin that would lead to the development of the medication bromocriptine used to treat infertility in women with excess prolactin. This discovery has allowed thousands of otherwise infertile women to become mothers. In 1967 he married Joyce Friesen at Madison Baptist Church in Montreal. They started their own family a few years later with Mark Henry being born in 1969 and Janet Elizabeth in 1970.

In 1973 Henry and his family moved back to Winnipeg to become professor and head of the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba for 18 years. Here he continued his research of endocrine hormones started in McGill including pioneering the use of human growth hormone (HGH) in children with HGH deficiency. This work led to thousands of children being given the opportunity to have increased stature. He also was involved in the training of many medical research scientists who came from all over the world to work in his department.

During this time Henry and Joyce raised their family in the Westwood neighbourhood, enjoying close proximity with his brother Dave and sister-in-law Elsie and their family. Car rides to Morden to visit Henry’s parents and brother John and sister-in-law Ingrid and family were a regular occurrence. Henry and family were also members in the Portage Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church community.

For Henry’s outstanding medical research achievements, he received Canada Gairdner International Award in 1977 and was named an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1987. He also saw a need for faith-based early years education in Winnipeg and helped bring into existence Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary Schools in 1981 as the founding chair of its board.

In 1991 Henry, Joyce and Janet moved to Ottawa to answer the call to become the president of the Medical Research Council (MRC) of Canada the federal granting agency for biomedical research in Canada. In his 9-year tenure he led the transformation the MRC into the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) greatly expanding the scope and funding of health research in Canada. It is hard to put into words the immense generational impact of this transformation on biomedical and health research in Canada.

Henry went on to be the founding chair of Genome Canada, and president of the National Cancer Institutes of Canada. In 2001 for his extraordinary vision and leadership in health research in Canada he was promoted to Companion, the highest rank, of the Order of Canada, inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and received the Gairdner Foundation Wightman Award.

Through it all he remained the same down-to-earth individual with his faithful partner Joyce with him all the way. Their love was one for the ages. After completing his time at MRC/CIHR Henry, a Manitoban at heart, moved with his family back to Winnipeg. In 2004 he graciously welcomed Maryann Huziy into the family as his daughter-in-law and then became enthusiastic grandfather of his beloved grandsons Zachary (2007) and Samuel (2009). Zack and Sam have many fond memories of regular visits and overnights with their grandparents. They especially loved the stories of his early life that Grampa Henry would tell them in a cozy corner of his home. His son Mark most appreciated how his dad’s face and voice would “light up” when his dad saw him or spoke with him on the phone. Henry had a special relationship with his daughter Janet, caring greatly for her to the very end.

Wherever Henry and Joyce lived they found a faith community they could become active participants in. It was his faith that propelled Henry’s desire to be of service to God and his fellow human beings. He was given the opportunity to do so on a profound level. He has left an indelible mark on health research in Canada for generations to come. He impacted the lives of a myriad of colleagues and friends with his wisdom, generosity, leadership, humility, and grace. He will be deeply missed and his memory cherished by his family whom he adored.

We are thankful for the love and support of friends and family during these past 3 weeks. Your gestures of kindness were very much appreciated by the Friesen family. Thank you.

A public viewing will occur at Westwood Community Church, 401 Westwood Drive, on Monday, May 5, 2025, at 11:15 am. A funeral service will commence at 12:00 pm, officiated by Ernest Goertzen, Springs Church, with reception to follow. Private interment will follow the reception.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Saint Boniface Hospital Research Foundation at https://stbhf.ca/en/ or Operation Smile at https://operationsmile.ca/