Brian Eric Hardy, FRACS, FACS
29 March 1942 - 29 January 2013
Urologist
Brian Hardy was a brilliant and gifted surgeon who dedicated his career to improving the lives of children afflicted with urologic disorders.
Brian was born in Hawkes Bay and spent his early life at Motonui station. He was Norah and Eric's 2nd eldest of 4 boys. His oldest brother Michael is a farmer, Denis practices law in Hawkes Bay, and Tony is an Orthopaedic Surgeon in Auckland. Brian attended Elsthorpe Primary School, later St Patrick's College, Silverstream, and then gained entry to the Otago Medical School, graduating in 1964.
During his time in Dunedin, Brian was a regular member of the University A rugby team, together with good friend and fellow medical student Murray Brennan, who became a noted cancer specialist and Chief of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Brian married Dunedin nurse Diane Reid in 1965. They had two children, Samuel and Victoria - a second son, James, died in infancy.
On completion of his MB ChB Brian remained in Dunedin as a house officer and quickly deciding upon a surgical career spent the next year as a demonstrator in the Anatomy Department in Dunedin, passing "Primary" at the end of 1966. Brian commenced work as a surgical registrar in Dunedin Hospital in 1967, being appointed Junior Lecturer in Surgery in 1968. He completed his FRACS in 1969 and between 1969 -1972 Brian, with Barbara Heslop, was involved in research on the immunology of rejection of the transplanted kidney.
Brian moved to the University of California Los Angeles in 1972, where he completed his urology residency, working with Joe Kaufman and Willard Goodwin, internationally recognised urologists. In 1974 Brian moved to Boston where he served as Chief Resident in Urology at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, under J Harwell Harrison, and subsequently completed a Fellowship in paediatric urology at Boston Children's Hospital. The family moved to Toronto in 1977 when Brian accepted a position at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. Brian was recruited to Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and University of Southern California (USC) in 1984 to serve as the first full time Chief of Paediatric Urology. He was also appointed Associate Professor of Urology at the USC Keck School of Medicine.
As Division Chief and co-director of the paediatric kidney transplant program at CHLA, he touched the lives of thousands of children by giving them the gift of life and restoring a sense of normalcy to their childhood. As a beloved teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend, he selflessly nurtured the careers of several generations of young urologists and successfully built the CHLA Division of Paediatric Urology into a one of the premier paediatric urology programs in the nation.
Brian retained a keen interest in competitive sports throughout his life including sailing, and horse racing. He worked and travelled extensively in China, and was a visiting lecturer at the First Army Hospital in Beijing. He helped set up their kidney transplantation program and operated on a number of children as part of his commitment to develop their capability.
Brian Hardy passed away peacefully at his home on January 29, 2013. Brian is survived by Diane, from whom he was divorced in1978, his children Samuel and Victoria, his grandchildren Cole, Payton, Hope, Cate, Ben, Katrine, and Sara, and his brothers Michael, Dennis and Anthony.
This obituary is based upon those appearing in the Los Angeles Times and the Otago Daily Times with the assistance of members of the family and Murray Brennan FRACS.