Peacefully, surrounded by family, Jack Sales passed away at the age of 93 on June 17th, 2023.
Jack Sales was born in Toronto, Ontario on May 27, 1930, and grew up in Ridgetown where he worked hard at school and on the family farm. He convinced his piano-teaching father that he should go into medicine rather than become a concert pianist. With his savings and a modest scholarship, Jack graduated from medical school at the University of Western Ontario and pursued surgery under Dr Angus McLachlin, followed by Toronto residency in Urology under Drs. Mitchell, Aberhart, Robson and Kerr. He continued urology training under a travelling Fellowship before returning to practice urology at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario.
As part of his practice, Dr. Sales was passionate about supporting rural community hospitals; he taught percutaneous nephrolithotripsy and ureteroscopy and helped St Joseph’s become the kidney stone center for London and District. As Secretary, then President of the Northeastern Section of the American Urological Association, Dr. Sales secured funds for research and education programs, and eventually scholarships, earning the NS-AUA’s distinguished Service Award and being made an honorary member of the AUA. He served on the AUA History Committee, as the AUA Northeastern Section historian. He served as Treasurer of the Canadian Urological Association, raising money for the Foundations’ scholarship funds. Later, as CUA President, he proudly hosted the annual CUA meeting in his hometown (London, Ontario) and received the CUA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 in recognition of his remarkable achievements. Following his retirement from St. Joseph’s Hospital at the age of 70, Dr. Sales continued to practice urology in Texas and at the US Army base in Fort Benning, Georgia.
Read more about Dr. Sales in the Canadian Journal of Urology, Legends in Urology column.