Dr. Libni Joseph Eapen

Mehmedovic, son of Painadath and Sosamma Eapen, brother of Lisbi Eapen, brother-in-law of

Maya Eapen, uncle of Amira Eapen, and physician and friend to many.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, part of the tightly knit Jacobite Syrian Orthodox diaspora that

moved from Kerala to Ethiopia and then onward to North America, Libni grew up in Halifax and

remained a proud maritimer til the end. A radiation oncologist at the Ottawa Cancer Centre for

the entirety of his career, he dedicated his 66 years to learning, teaching, humour and healing.

Tennis player, hook shot aficionado, pool shark, late-blooming modern art enthusiast and

perpetual seeker of les bons mots. Aside from beating his best friend in straight sets or making

cappuccinos for his kids, there’s nothing he enjoyed more than a glass of red wine and

rollicking conversation.

He loved teaching, research and academic pursuits in addition to his clinical responsibilities.

He took great pleasure in wrestling with ideas and constantly challenged himself and his peers

to reimagine their approach to the often-times abstract nexus of cancer and medicine. That

being said, nothing was more important in his career than caring for his patients. He fully

embraced and understood an oncologist’s role as healer and confidant to people in crisis.

A Bobby Orr fan from childhood, he learned to love the Ottawa Senators and eventually

adopted their colours. His passion for basketball evolved from playing on his high school team,

to playing daily one-on-one matches on the driveway, to heartily cheering the Raptors onward

to the title. It must be said that his low-post moves and set shot were things of beauty. He

could reel off twenty swishes in a row, humming Paul Simon tunes, fresh from the hospital, still

wearing his lab coat and work shoes. We could go on describing his athletic accomplishments

from ranking second in the Nova Scotian table tennis standings to learning to ski in his

early-30s and that’s exactly what he’d love to read, but this is for us, not you, Dad!

Libni loved to laugh at the world and at himself. The more absurd and the weirder the humour,

the better. From Monty Python to Armando Iannucci, he never missed a chance to laugh loudly

and from the belly. He loved life and was fascinated by people, ideas and the ties that bind. It

was only later in life that he finally and begrudgingly admitted Rushdie’s superiority to Naipaul,

but curiously he always complained that Salman ended his novels too suddenly and without an

appropriate deference to denouement.

Together, Libni and Juno shared a life of travel, theatre, art, and music and they strove to

nurture this love in their children.

His family will always remember his undying love and commitment to us. We will miss him

forever. He leaves behind an outsized legacy for a 5’8” Malayali. We love you Dad. Forever

forever forever forever. All the golden heart emojis. We promise to minimize our wasting of

pockets; we endeavour to not use up the brakes. See you next time. We’ll be waving good bye

til the car is out of sight. TA-DA!

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider making a donation to the Canadian Cancer

Society. A virtual memorial gathering will be organized in the weeks to come, with an in-person

gathering to follow when possible.