Michael Ortynsky has retired from pharmacy after more than 40 years in the profession and nearly 25 years as one of the owners of the Tumbler Ridge Pharmacy.
His career began in Mackenzie before moving to Fort St. John in 1989.
In 2001, Michael, along with Charissa Tonnesen, purchased Peoples Pharmacy from Al and Edna Kopeck and started running the business together while still working at the Fort St. John Pharmacy. Over the next decade or so, they took on more partners and bought three more pharmacies (in Fort St. John, Keremeos and West Kelowna), but Tumbler Ridge was where it all began.
From humble beginnings operating a very small dispensary in the back corner of Tru Value Hardware to expanding and fully renovating the space into the shape that it is now, Mike has been instrumental in guiding the development of pharmacy services in Tumbler Ridge. That includes the switch to a Medicine Centre franchise, the design of the pharmacy when it was expanded right up to replacing some plumbing and lighting fixtures in the pharmacy in late 2023.
While he may not have worked in Tumbler Ridge as often after 2007, he still showed up on occasion to provide coverage and people here were delighted to see him again. He always had a smile on his face and a good story to pass on.
Mike served the College of Pharmacists of BC in various capacities over the years. He was a representative for pharmacists in Northern BC from 2019 to 2023 and served on a variety of committees, including the Practice Review, Audit and Finance, Quality Assurance and Legislation Review Committees between 2015 and 2023.
Mike has also been very involved in advancing the profession of pharmacy overall. He became involved in compounding medications in 1999 in Fort St. John and designed a purpose-built compounding lab when the Fort St Pharmacy and Wellness Centre moved into its current location in 2001. He has employed nurses to provide foot and wound care along with immunization services in the pharmacy. He also created a corporate structure that gave all his employees the opportunity to become shareholders in the company. He was given the Ben Gant Innovative Pharmacy Award by the BC Pharmacy Association for his unique approach in the Fort St. John Pharmacy.
As a lovely cherry on top of a storied career, Mike was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the BC Pharmacy Association in May of 2025. We had a reception in Fort St. John on July 27 to celebrate his retirement and to allow some of his old colleagues and patients to give him their good wishes. There was a line of people to see him for the entire three hours of the event.
Health issues have forced Mike to retire before he may have been ready to do so, but he worked tremendously hard and has left an impression on this pharmacy and many others that will last for a long time.
I feel tremendously fortunate to have had him as a mentor and colleague from the beginning of my own career. Someone recently asked me what it was that made Mike so special to those who worked with him. My answer was that he made everyone around him better through encouragement and strong leadership. He never tried to elevate himself as his main goal was to elevate others. That’s a pretty fantastic example to try to live up to.
Above photo: Mike (second from right) surrounded by the staff of the Tumbler Ridge Pharmacy. Photo provided.
