Dr. Charles Godfrey died at his home in Madoc, Ont.  on July 24, just weeks before his 105th birthday, his family told CTV News Toronto.
“He was pretty lively up until that point,” his son, Mark Godfrey, said Tuesday.
Dr. Charles Godfrey practiced medicine until he was 102, making him “one of the oldest doctors in North America,” said a spokesman for the University of Toronto’s department of medicine.  At the time, he was still working at four different medical clinics in Toronto, four days a week.
“He had a remarkable longevity in practice, supported by his abiding love of medicine and incredible care for his patients,” the university said.
If it weren’t for the pandemic, Mark Godfrey said his father probably would have continued practicing for a while longer.
“He was the smartest guy in the room, my whole life, any room we were in,” she said.
Dr. Charles Godfrey was a “famous” physician, a “true pioneer” and a “pioneer” in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R).
In 1953, he earned his medical degree from the University of Toronto, which he paid for by working as a janitor and solution worker.  He later went on to teach at the university for more than 20 years.
After graduation, he went on to serve as director of PM&R at Toronto East General and worked at Toronto General, Toronto Rehab and Sunnybrook hospitals before being appointed as the chief of clinical rehabilitation at Wellesley Hospital.
Dr. Mark Bayley, medical director of Toronto Rehab, said Dr. Charles Godfrey’s focus on treating the “whole person” and the impact an injury or illness can have on a person’s daily life, continues to inspire the specialty.
His achievements were recognized in 1989 when he was appointed to the Order of Canada.  “Deeply committed to humanity and the elimination of human suffering, and despite being of retirement age, he continues to engage in an exhausting cycle of activities,” his award states.
The Order of Canada also took note of his political activism, which focused on the environment, and made him a key member of the People or Planes campaign opposing the construction of Pickering Airport.

“Physicians must demonstrate leadership within the community,” insisted Dr. Charles Godfrey in an article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 1987. This heartfelt concern was reflected in his role as director of CARE/ MEDICO, which led him, along with his wife who was a nurse who died in 2002, to volunteer as a visiting doctor in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan , Mark said Godfrey. He was also a member of the Royal Canadian Military Institute (RCMI) for 34 years, where friend Pat Hind-White remembers Dr. Charles Godfrey as “spontaneous” and “mischievous,” an RCMI memorial release said. “Few of us live up to his age. Even fewer of us put every day of his or her life on this planet to make it a better place. Dr. Godfrey did,” said RCMI President and CEO Rod Seyffert.