R Clifton Way MD

A well-traveled Way R Clifton Way MD

R. Clifton "Cliff" Way's early life did not bode well for his future. Born in the tiny northern Newfoundland fishing community of Flower's Cove, Cliff was seven when he lost his mother to tuberculosis. When he was eleven, his father died from a brain tumor, leaving young Cliff in the care of his grandparents.



Cliff might have spent his life working in the dying Newfoundland cod-fishing industry, but he showed an exceptional flare for academics, completing grade nine in a one-room schoolhouse at age thirteen. His teacher recommended the young man be transferred to the Grenfell School in St. Anthony, where he lived for two years at the Grenfell Mission Orphanage.



The mission's robust embrace of Christianity instilled Cliff with a need to serve others and pushed him to excel in his studies. He went on to graduate from McGill University's medical school and complete his postgraduate work at three different hospitals in Canada and one in Oregon. Ultimately he became a professor of pediatrics and director of the pediatric cardiology service at McMaster University.

A Well-Travelled Way explores the deep role Christianity played in one man's life, molding his academic and personal interests into a life of meaningful service.