Lloyd Fraser Detwiller was born on August 8, 1917, in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. He obtained a B.A. in Economics and government from the University of B.C. in 1939. In 1940 and an M.A. in Economics and Statistics. He then enlisted in the R.C.A.F., where he served until 1945. After his discharge from the air force, he lectured for a year at U.B.C. in economics, and in 1946 he joined the provincial government as a research statistician. He served the government in various capacities: Secretary of the School Tax Commission; Commissioner of Sales Tax (June 1948-1950); and B.C. Hospital Insurance Service (1950-1955). He left in 1955 to take formal training in hospital administration at the University of Minnesota. Still, he returned to B.C. in 1957 to the post of Assistant Deputy Minister of Hospital Insurance. In 1962, he left government service to become the administrator of the U.B.C. Health Sciences Centre, a position which he held until his retirement in December of 1982.
Detwiller lectured extensively on medical economics in Canada and the United States for various universities and professional institutions. In addition, he was very influential in countries other than Canada's health care economics through his speeches and publications. After Detwiller's retirement in 1982, he continued to serve the U.B.C. Health Sciences Centre Hospital as an unpaid but active consultant. He also served as secretary to the Board of Management of the Imaging Research Centre, which he had helped establish. Detwiller continued to write, lecture and attend conferences until he died in 1987. In commemoration of his two decades of service to the Health Sciences Centre, the hospital's psychiatric unit was named the Lloyd F. Detwiller Pavilion.