Donald (Don) Alexander Coventry was born in Melbourne in 1933, the son of Norman Alexander Coventry and his wife, Elspeth Isobel. Elspeth died very young and Norman subsequently married Grace Isobel (nee Hughes) when Don was three years of age. Norman and Grace had two daughters, Lynette and Barbara. Don married Julienne Elizabeth (nee Harry) in 1961. They were divorced in 1980. There were three children from this first marriage; Catherine, Sandy and Michael. Subsequently Don married Mary Carolyn (Canny) Rigg.

Don’s initial education was at Auburn Central Primary School following which he gained entry to Melbourne High School. He matriculated in 1950, began studying medicine at Melbourne University and attended the recently opened medical school at Prince Henry’s Hospital for his clinical terms between 1953 and 1955. After graduation in 1956, he continued at Prince Henry’s as an intern and registrar, including a year as a Pathology Registrar, before transferring to The Alfred Hospital in 1961, where he was appointed Senior Medical Registrar.

After completing the MRACP in 1962, he travelled with his family to the United Kingdom where he spent three months in a tuberculosis unit at Willesden Chest Clinic. The Clinic was associated with the Central Middlesex Hospital where Don attended the Gastroenterology Clinic run by Sir Francis Avery Jones. He was then appointed Registrar to Dr Nelson Coghill at the West Middlesex Hospital.

Don returned to Melbourne in late 1964, where he succeeded Douglas McCutcheon in the Clinical Research Unit at the Baker Institute at The Alfred Hospital. At the Baker, Don found an excellent environment for research and discussion which allowed him to pursue his studies in intestinal malabsorption.

In 1966, he was appointed as Honorary Physician at Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital and remained there until 1971. He was then appointed as an Honorary Physician to Outpatients at Alfred Hospital and continued in that role until 1975, when he became a Visiting Inpatient Physician. A restructuring of the hospital's medical units resulted in an increased emphasis on specialty units and Don joined the Gastroenterology Group as a Visiting Physician. His clinical research interests were largely related to gut motility. His most significant publications were those with Dr Alf Barnett and were related to the gastrointestinal manifestations of scleroderma. He spent 37 years at The Alfred.

Don contributed to the wider aspects of hospital life, being a member of various committees. He was Sub-Dean of The Alfred Hospital Clinical School and then Dean for three years. He also served a term as Chairman of the Division of Medicine and was a long standing member of the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Advisory Committee. He regularly represented the senior medical staff in the annual residents/senior medical staff cricket match and was a regular competitor in the annual Alfred Hospital Residents and Graduates Association golf match.

His private practice was at Cabrini Hospital in Malvern, where he remained for 27 years. During this time he served a term as Deputy Chairman of Cabrini’s Medical Committee.

In 1998, Don was diagnosed with liver cancer. He died peacefully at Cabrini Prahran in spring 2000, a gentle man with a great sense of humour.