Fri | Mar 29, 2024

Retired ‘Dear Doc’ is dead - Former Gleaner columnist succumbs to health challenges

Published:Saturday | March 10, 2018 | 12:00 AM

Dr David Delvin, who, for 50 years, was the man behind the popular 'Dear Doc' columns in The Gleaner, is dead.

Delvin's widow, Christine, yesterday confirmed the death of the man who provided thoughtful, compassionate answers to Gleaner readers' questions on sex, health, and relationships before he retired last July at the age of 78.

He had been ailing for some time.

Delvin, who said his boyhood hero was Jamaican iconic middle-distance runner Arthur Wint, began writing for The Daily Gleaner back in 1967.

He spent three years working in Jamaica as a doctor, first at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital then as a medical registrar at the Kingston Public Hospital.

"I had a truly wonderful time in Jamaica and [as I expected] loved the people. I met some great Jamaicans, including Dr Arthur Wint himself; Sir Alexander Bustamante; and Theodore Sealy, the famous editor-in-chief of The Gleaner. I used to read The Gleaner every day and thought it was fabulous," Delvin said on the eve of his final column.

Delvin was very dedicated to his job as a columnist, always doing whatever it took to make sure he got in his column on time.

"Obviously, I wanted to bring a smile to the lips of readers. But a lot of the time, it was all about clearing up simple health misunderstandings, often concerning contraception and VD (venereal diseases). I will miss it greatly," said Delvin on his departure from the pages of The Gleaner.