With great sadness we received the news that on August 23 our dear Dr. Peter Porritt passed away in Winnipeg, Canada.
Peter was born in England in 1923. He graduated as a Medical Surgeon, married Mary and they had 3 children – Howard, Julia and Trevor. He emigrated to Canada in 1958.
As a young man he met Hockey playing at school. In Canada he met the FIH President - Rene Frank - who introduced him to the PAHF organization that was currently developing. In the first PAHF Congress during the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1967, he was elected as Secretary of the Federation.
During the Olympic Games in Mexico 1968 he perform as Medical Official.
Subsequently he was part of the FIH Council and then Chairman of the first medical committee.
Peter acted in the PAHF for 32 years as Secretary General and Treasurer from 1967 to 1994 and from that date as Treasurer until 1999.
I met Peter during the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 and from that moment an extraordinary friendship was established between us especially during the 20 years we were working together in the PAHF and the FIH. Peter was a person with a big heart and a British humor that sometimes was difficult for other people to understand. At this time, he was the soul of our Federation. Always willing to talk and find solutions. I don’t remember that Peter got mad at someone and was recognized as a friend of all PAHF and FIH members.
We were honored to receive him as a special guest on the 50th Anniversary of the PAHF in Santiago, Chile. Unfortunately, it was the last time we saw him. I contacted his wife Mary for the 60th anniversary of the PAHF and she informed me about Peter's health but she confirmed that his love for hockey and especially for PAHF never faded.
His son Trevor inherited his love for hockey by playing 10 years for the Canada National Team.
Our sincere condolences to Mary and her 3 children, we will always be very grateful for his life dedicated to Pan American Hockey.
Tony von Ondarza
