MONTREAL— McGill Athletics and Recreation is saddened to announce the passing of Dr. Joseph Hanaway on July 7, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri. A varsity athlete at McGill University in the 1950s, he helped shape modern neuroanatomy and later established a distinguished career in medicine, education and athletics safety in the United States. He was 92.
 
A McGill football, wrestling and rugby alumnus, he graduated with the Arts class of 1956, majoring in English, followed by a medical degree (MDCM) in 1960. Beyond medicine, he remained connected to his alma mater and was instrumental, post-retirement, in restoring the Roddick Gates clock and bell tower at the entrance to the downtown campus in 2010, reviving a cherished McGill landmark.
 
Born March 4, 1933, in New York City, and raised in Short Hills, N.J., Hanaway attended The Pingry School and excelled in football, rugby, wrestling, and competitive boating. His sailing teams won the East Coast Star championship in 1955 and placed third at the 1953 Mallory Cup, the North American championship.

Hanaway enrolled at McGill in 1953 and joined the varsity football team as a placekicker, earning the nickname "Joe the Toe." He later starred for the University's rugby team that captured the 1955 league championship.

In 2021, the varsity rugby program established a Dr. Joseph Hanaway McGill Rugby Gentleman's Award to honour outstanding sportsmanship — later endowed in 2025 to become a $3,500 bursary recognizing gentlemanly conduct.

He completed his neurology residency at the Montreal General Hospital and the Montreal Neurological Institute, where he met his wife of 63 years, Nancy Smithers, a registered nurse. The couple had three children: Christopher, Elizabeth and Katherine. 

Widely respected for mentorship and advocacy towards patient-centred care, Hanaway was a pioneer in clinical ethics and medical education. He co-authored more than 70 articles and 15 books, primarily on the history of medical humanities and health care policy. His work included co-writing a two-volume history of the McGill University's faculty of medicine and a book on the history of the Montreal General Hospital. More recently, he had been working on a notable biography of world renown sculptor Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, a McGill Sports Hall of Fame inductee who competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis.

After beginning his academic career teaching neuroanatomy at the University of Virginia's medical school (1964–1970), Hanaway authored the original Atlas of the Human Brain in Section, a foundational textbook that remained in print through 2017 and became a standard in medical education worldwide. His groundbreaking work secured him a neurology residency in 1970 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he trained with some of the most prominent neurologists of the time.

In 1973, Hanaway joined the Washington University school of medicine in St. Louis before moving to the University of Missouri. He later established a private neurology practice and formally retired in 2008. He also volunteered for more than three decades as the football team physician for St. Louis Country Day School, where he helped develop a concussion protocol in 1997 for the Missouri State Athletic Association.
  
A passionate birder and amateur wildlife photographer, Hanaway travelled extensively with his family, particularly to Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Florida.

Dr. Hanaway is survived by his wife Nancy, son Christopher (Catherine), daughters Elizabeth (Philip Geiger) and Katherine (Glen Arentowicz) and six grandchildren: Martin and Helen Geiger, Lucy and John Hanaway, and Jack and Eli Arentowicz. He was predeceased by his brother Bill and his parents, William Lippincott Hanaway and Nellie Prince Hanaway.
 
A memorial service is planned for a future date. In lieu of lowers, the family has suggested that donations be made to the Dr. Joseph Hanaway Rugby Gentleman's Award at the following link.

SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca