U of T MD 50th Reunion: Rekindling connections that stand the test of time
It’s not always easy to stay in touch across five decades of full careers, family life and changing paths. But for the University of Toronto’s MD Class of 1976 (7T6), coming back together for their 50-year reunion was a powerful reminder that some connections are worth the effort to sustain.
The milestone event, part of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s signature alumni celebrations, brought classmates together for an evening that blended reflection, reconnection and renewed appreciation for a shared history.
The evening began with a lively pre-dinner reception at the Faculty Club. Old friends greeted one another with warm embraces, laughter and easy conversation, proving that even when life pulls people in different directions meaningful bonds can endure.
For some, those bonds grew into lifelong partnerships.
Bill Lucas met Elfriede Waitschies in their first year of the MD program. Their mutual friend and classmate, Paul Shasko, had requested that he along with Lucas, Waitschies and Shasko’s friend Victor Toran all be part of the same anatomy cadaver group. These groups of four MD students worked in pairs on each side of the cadaver as they learned anatomy. Lucas and Shasko stood on one side, and Waitschies and Toran on the other.
After a few classes, Lucas and Waitschies realized they were mismatched — their respective partners were meticulous and detail oriented, winning a prize for their dissection precision, while Lucas and Waitschies were more practical and ensured all the required dissections were completed. So, they switched partners, and it wasn’t long before Lucas started to see Waitschies as a good match in other ways.
Six weeks later, he worked up the courage to ask her out, but she declined. He asked again, and again, but she was committed to a part-time job she had taken to pay for school and had little downtime to spare.
“She finally said ‘yes’ just as the Christmas holiday was approaching,” he said. The two wed shortly after they graduated and both have enjoyed long and rewarding careers as family physicians.
“We’ll be celebrating our own 50th anniversary later this year!”
Lucas and Waitschies aren’t the only MD 7T6 sweethearts. Classmates Ruth Wilson and Ian Casson built a life together after meeting during their MD training, as well as Ann Grisé and Norman Hill.
Now married for nearly five decades, Grisé reflects on how those early connections have carried forward.
“You don’t always realize it at the time,” she said, “but the relationships you form during those years can become some of the most important in your life.”
In this spirit of preserving contact, Grisé and the other class ambassadors went to great lengths to track down classmates whose email information was outdated. They had a strong starting point, with a healthy contact list that Wilson had regularly maintained since their 40th reunion a decade ago. To close the gaps, they googled, asked around, made phone calls and were always received with gratitude once a connection was reestablished. She credits the event’s great turnout to that collective effort, along with the strength of classmates’ relationships.
After the reception, guests moved into the dining room for the formal program and dinner. Classmate Don Collins-Williams served as Master of Ceremonies, co-organizing the evening with Grisé, Bev Morningstar, Danny Riegert, Susan Stone and the Temerty Medicine Alumni Relations team.
Collins-Williams introduced Temerty Medicine dean Lisa Robinson, who congratulated the class on their achievements over the last five decades.
“We all know how easy it is to get caught up in the day-to-day of our careers and lives,” said Robinson, “This is why it’s so important to seize opportunities like today’s reunion, to reflect on and celebrate the impact you have had on your patients, your families and your communities.”
The evening then turned reflective, as Riegert led a moving memorial tribute honouring classmates who have passed away and invited others to share their own memories and anecdotes.
Later, Grisé spoke about the class’s collective efforts to give back to their community through the MD Class of 7T6 Award, which the class established in 2016 as part of their 40th anniversary celebration to support U of T medical students with financial need.
“Over the last decade it’s been inspiring to see how our collective contributions are helping to shape the next generation of physicians,” she said. “And now, as we mark our 50th reunion, we have an opportunity to build on that legacy.”
She encouraged classmates to keep up the momentum as they neared $76,000 (7T6) raised in total, which would allow the class to support two students annually.
To illustrate the impact of such support, Deborah Ola, a current medical student and award recipient, shared her experience.
“The awards I received didn’t only relieve some of my financial stresses, they gave me the space and comfort to grow as a student, advocate, community member and future physician,” Ola said. “Thank you for making journeys like mine possible.”
Those lean years as medical students were all-too-familiar for Lucas and Waitschies. Remembering how it felt to be cash-strapped as students, they decided this year it was time to give back. In addition to contributing to the MD Class of 7T6 Award fund, they established their own award for a graduate pursuing a career in family medicine.
At that point the formal program concluded and guests gathered for a class photo, capturing not just a moment in time but a network of relationships sustained over 50 years.
As the evening drew to a close, classmates lingered — talking, laughing and exchanging contact information, with a renewed appreciation for staying in touch.
