BINCH
BINCIK
BINDING
BINDON
BINGHAM
BINGO
BINHAMMER
BINKLEY
BINNS
BINCH o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-09-04 published
Wilma Ruth
KYLE
By Patricia
HUNTER
Thursday,
September 4, 2003 - Page A28
Wife, mother, grandmother, volunteer, world traveller. Born November
12, 1915, in Toronto. Died March 28 in Niagara Falls, Ontario,
of congestive heart failure, aged 87.
Wilma sounds like such a plain name and my mother was anything
but: she was a beautiful woman who was intelligent, kind, loving,
and fun-loving. She often said that she was supposed to be a
boy and be named after her Uncle Bill, Wilfred Reese
BINCH.
However,
my dad, her family and her Friends called her "Willie."
Willie and her parents, Ernie and Ella
YOUNG, and her brother,
Jerry, lived in the west end of Toronto. Mom attended Keele Street
Public School and she made some lifelong Friends there. She and
her Friends at Humberside Collegiate started a bridge club, calling
themselves The Lucky Thirteen. They had great fun together and
one summer they rented a cottage at Grand Bend, Ontario.
One evening six medical students crashed a dance at University
College at the University of Toronto. Cam
KYLE asked Willie
YOUNG
to dance and then he asked if he could drive her home and she
said yes. When he took her home, she told him that she should
write down her phone number for him because there were a lot
of Youngs in the phone book. Cam didn't call for about two weeks
and Willie was starting to wonder if he was ever going to phone
her. When he finally did call and asked if he could come and
see her, he brought along his best friend for moral support.
This was the beginning of a four-year courtship and 62 years
of marriage.
After completing her B.A., Mom worked for six weeks at Eaton's
in the accounting department. She made $13 a week and before
she left to get married, she was offered a promotion and a raise
to $18 a week.
Dad completed his junior internship at St. Michael's Hospital
and joined the newly formed medical corps in the Royal Canadian
Air Force. This was July, 1940. Dad couldn't get leave to come
to Toronto to get married, so my parents were married in Winnipeg
on Valentine's Day, 1941.
After being raised a city girl in Toronto, Mom's life changed
dramatically, living in the wild west called Manitoba. She learned
how to cook on a wood stove and shoot prairie chickens with a
shotgun. Mom would drive the car and dad would stand on the running
board and shoot. When they reversed roles, my mother broke her
collarbone as the gun discharged.
The next several years tested my mother's inner strength. Dad
was posted overseas for three years when my brother, Bill, was
an infant. This meant that Mom was a single mother like many
women during the war. As well, her father died of heart disease
at the early age of 52. After the war, Dad completed his surgical
training and my brothers, Bob and Peter, and I arrived on the scene.
Jumping ahead to life in Niagara Falls, Mom worked hard on the
home front while dad established his medical practice. Mom enjoyed
gardening and grew beautiful flowers, especially roses and African
violets. Other activities included reading, curling, theatre,
and volunteer work. But mostly, she looked after dad and us and
this was a full-time job, especially when we were young. I didn't
realize until I was much older that everyone's mother didn't
stay up late at night sewing ballet and skating costumes after
putting in a full day.
Travel was a big part of my parents' life together. Not only
did it enrich their lives, teaching them about other cultures
around the world, but my mother often had some funny stories
to tell. She certainly was able to laugh at herself.
At her funeral, granddaughter Shannon described Willie as being
loving, adventurous, intelligent, and a bit of a worrywart. After
years of training from my mother, we all say to our own children,
"Call when you get there."
Patricia is Wilma's daughter.
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BINCIK o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-03-26 published
GRENFELL,
Douglas
Paul
Our beloved Paul died peacefully, Sunday 23 March, 2003 at Toronto
Grace Hospital, in the loving setting of the Palliative Care
Unit, thus ending a two year adventure with a brain tumour. He
leaves a circle of constant Friends and a grieving family: mother
Gwendoline, wife
Sally, parents-in-law Richard and Kathleen
LITCH,
his children and Sally's, Jennifer and her husband Thomas and
their sons Ian and Daniel, Philip and his partner Albert Liu,
Lisa and her husband Nicholas
SAMSTAG,
Laura and her husband
Gabriel BINCIK and their daughters Hanna and Julia, Amelia
WALLNER
and her partner Todd
DYER,
Anna
WALLNER and her husband Blair
QUINN, the
LITCH and
MERCER families and cousins in England.
Predeceased by his father Harold. Also remembered by Molly
LOGAN.
Cremation. Service of Thanksgiving for Paul's life will be at
Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, 230 St. Clair Avenue West, M4V
1R5, (416) 925-5977, Monday 31 March at 11 a.m. with The Reverend
Dr. Andrew
STIRLING officiating. Kindnesses to others or gifts
to the Gerry and Nancy Pencer Centre for Brain Tumours, 610 University
Avenue, Toronto M5G 2M9 (416) 946-6560 or to Paul's Church would
honour his memory.
''...Sorrow and Love flow mingled down...''
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BINDING o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-08-09 published
BINDING, Dr. Frederick Richard Stadelman (May 13, 1938 - August
Died suddenly at Cape Chin, at the age of 65. Predeceased by
his father, Fred
STADELMAN in 1938, his step-father Fred
BINDING
in 1979, and his mother Gertrude
BINDING in 1997. He is survived
by his brother Bob (Karen) of Winnipeg, their three children,
Rob, Dave and Kathy (Dave) and his grandniece Anika, and cousins
in Canada and Switzerland. Fred was born and raised in Winnipeg
and holds degrees from the University of Manitoba. He graduated
with a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Kansas and
began his teaching career at Memorial University in Saint John's,
Newfoundland in 1996. In 1971, he began teaching at Wilfrid Laurier
University in Waterloo and retired from that position in June,
2003. He was Marshall of the University and Dean of Greek Life.
Fred was active in the Kitchener-Waterloo community with the
Pioneer Sportsmen Club as Builder, President and Director, with
Special Olympics and the Bruce Trail Association as well as many
other groups in the area. He was also very involved with International
Competitive Shooting as a competitor, official and manager. He
participated in Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan American Games,
Canadian National and Provincial Championships. Cremation has
taken place. A Memorial Service will be held at First United
Church, 16 William Street at King Street, Waterloo, at 11 a.m.
on Monday, August 11, 2003. In lieu of flowers, please make a
donation in Fred's memory to Ontario's Special Olympics Inc.,
K-W and District Special Olympics or the Pioneer Sportsmen Club,
211 Pioneer Tower Road, Kitchener, or the charity of your choice
and may be arranged by calling the Edward R. Good Funeral Home
at 519-745-8445 or www.edwardrgood.com
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BINDON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-06-12 published
Died This Day -- 13 school canoeists, 1978
Thursday, June 12, 2003 - Page R9
Adventure outing by Saint John's School, Claremont, Ontario, struck
by high winds on Lake Temiskaming, single capsize caused panic
and the upset of other canoes, led to deaths of teacher Mark
DEANNY and boys
Todd MICHELL,
Barry NELSON,
Jody O'GORMAN,
Timothy PRYCE,
David GREANEY,
Andy HERMAN,
Simon CROFT,
Tim HOPKINS,
Tom KENNY,
Scott BINDON,
Kevin BLACK,
Fraser BOURCHIER
Autopsies showed all drowned but that some had been in water 12 hours before death occurred.
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BINGHAM o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-02-14 published
COOK,
Bernard
James
Bernard died peacefully and with dignity at North York General
Hospital on February 11, 2003, following a brief illness in his
81st year. Beloved husband of Edythe
COOK and the late Gertrude
(Trudy) COOK.
Bernard will be greatly missed by his daughters
Patricia HENRY
(Mike) and Mary
TOD (Ian) and sons David
BINGHAM
(Diane) and Bruce
BINGHAM
(Mary.) He leaves behind 9 grandchildren,
Karen BOWES, Kim
REEP, Lesley
TOD, Brian
TOD, Kate
BINGHAM, Elizabeth
BINGHAM, Michael
BINGHAM, Mickey
HENRY and Alex
HENRY and great
grand_son Jonathan
REEP.
Bernie
COOK, a World War 2 veteran who
served with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals in England and
Northern Europe, was a proud employee of Canadian Pacific Railway
throughout his career and was respected by all. The family extends
thanks to the excellent nursing staff at North York General Hospital.
Friends may call at the R.S. Kane Funeral Home (6150 Yonge Street,
at Goulding, south of Steeles), on Friday February 14 from 2-
4 and 6 - 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated
at St. Leo's Church (277 Royal York Road) on Saturday, February
15 at 10 a.m. Please join us for a reception following the mass
to celebrate Bernard's life at 33 Elmhurst Avenue. Private family
interment. Donations to the charity of your choice would be appreciated.
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BINGHAM o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-06-17 published
CASEY,
Francis
(Frank)
J. b. 1912 (London, England)
On June 15th, 2003, in his 92nd year, Frank Casey died peacefully.
He lived life well and joyfully, and leaves a remarkable legacy
of family, business, and service to his church and community.
Frank's career in insurance began in 1934 with Lloyd's in London,
England. In 1937, he married Frances
PETERS.
Their long and happy
marriage was a true partnership. Frank served as a Sergeant Major
in the British Army in the Second World War before emigrating
to Canada in 1948 and settling with his family in Toronto. He
was the founder and president of Frank J. Casey Insurance Brokers,
which for more than fifty years has been a north Toronto institution.
His personal approach and dedication to the well-being of his
clients made many of them into life-long Friends. He was a stalwart
of his parish, St. Monica's, where he was a long-time member
of the St. Vincent de Paul Society; and in the greater community
he served as the first president of Sancta Maria House, which
provides shelter, counselling and support for at-risk teenage
girls. Frank took enormous pride and pleasure in his family,
and he will be greatly missed by us all. Loving father of Patricia
BINGHAM and her husband Richard; the late Catherine
BOUWMEISTER
and her husband John; Dr. John
CASEY and his wife
Therese;
Anne
CHEETHAM and her late husband Francis; Frank G.
CASEY; and Angela
BRANSCOMBE and her husband Harley. Devoted grandfather to Richard,
Christopher and Deirdre
BINGHAM; Paul, Janet, John Mark and Michael
BOUWMEISTER;
Clare,
Stephanie, and Daniel
CHEETHAM; and Paul,
Jean, Marta-Marie and Phillippe
CASEY.
Great-grandfather to Andrew,
Francesca-Anne, Brendan, Caitlin, Thomas and Liam. The family
thanks his many caregivers and the staff at Central Park Lodge.
Friends may call at the Trull Funeral Home, 2704 Yonge Street,
Tuesday, June 17th from 2-4 p.m. and from 7-9 p.m. Mass of Christian
burial at St. Monica's Catholic Church, 44 Broadway Avenue, on
Wednesday, June 18th at 1: 30 p.m. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery.
If desired, a remembrance may be made to Sancta Maria House,
102 Bernard Avenue, Toronto M5R 1R9; (416) 925-7333. He always
believed himself to be a blessed and lucky man. We were blessed
to have had him.
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BINGO o@ca.on.manitoulin.howland.little_current.manitoulin_expositor 2003-11-05 published
WABINOGESHIG
Maxie
Isadore
ASSINEWAI
In Loving Memory of
WABINOGESHIG, Maxie Isadore
ASSINEWAI, Fish, Eagle and Bear Clan, 49 years.
Max began his Spirit Journey Sunday, November 02, 2003 at his
favourite place, Perch Lake in Sheguiandah First Nation.
Beloved husband and best friend to Shauna (née
PITAWANAKWAT)
ASSINEWAI.
Loving father to Derek, Adrienne, Nicole, Brian and
Maggie. Proud grandfather of Cole and Eric. Dear son of Evelyn and
Jacob ASSINEWAI (predeceased) and Isabel and John
McGRAW of
Wikwemikong. Will be sadly missed by special in-laws (Walter
GONAWABI of Wikwemikong, Gail
JACOBS of Serpent River and Ken
BISSON
of M'Chigeeng). Dear brother to Steven, Wendy, Raymond, Josephine,
Julius (wife Mary), Thomas (predeceased), Jeanette (husband Darcy
PAQUET,)
Norman (wife
Frances) all of Wikwemikong. Son-in-law to
Malcom and Connie
PITAWANAKWAT of Wikwemikong. Cherished
brother-in-law to Rachel (Todd), Mark (Tanya), Lisa (Gord), Wendy,
Dawn, Walton, Ralphie (Wendy), Shannon, Raven, Alison and Tim
(predeceased). He is also survived by his many nieces and nephews and his
families of Birch Island, Rousseau River (Manitoba) and Red Lake (Minnesota).
Max's life path was guided by the culture and traditions of the
Anishinabek. He was Ogitch'dah, Eagle Staff Carrier, Pipe Carrier,
and respected spiritual healer. He will also be missed by his
traditional societies to which he belonged: Windigo, Big Drum,
Mide(win), Wiidehgokaan and Giiskaa.
His devotion to this people led him to be a political leader and advisor for
Sheguiandah First Nation, neighboring First Nations and the Metis Nation.
Max enjoyed hunting, gambling,
BINGO, cultural gatherings, pow-wows,
children, visiting, hockey and traveling extensively throughout Mother Earth.
Most of all, Max will be remembered for the time he took to share
with his sense of humour and for his willingness to always help others at anytime.
Wake Services was held at the Sheguiandah First Nation Community
Centre on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 at 1: 00 p.m. Funeral Services
will be celebrated on Friday, November 07, 2003 at 10: 00 a.m. at the
Sheguiandah First Nation Community Centre.
Interment at his residence, Feast to follow. Bourcier Funeral Home, Espanola.
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BINHAMMER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-05-03 published
Leafs trusted their doctor
Talented M.D. specialized in hand surgery. 'He had a unique technical
approach. That's what made him different from other surgeons.'
By Carol COOPER
Special to The Globe and Mail Saturday, May 3,
2003 - Page F10
Nothing about Jim
MURRAY's hands indicated that he was a surgeon.
Large and gnarled with undulating fingernails, those hands played
bagpipes, patched up Toronto Maple Leafs and Team Canada players
and restored form and function to other hands.
Dr. MURRAY, a plastic surgeon who was the first Canadian doctor
to devote his practice to hand surgery, died last month at the
age of 82.
"His hands looked more like those of a prize fighter than a surgeon.
His fingers were bent, "said Robert
McFARLANE, a retired plastic
surgeon with a special interest in hands and a close friend of
Dr. MURRAY. "It didn't seem to make a difference. He had tremendous
skill."
In 1983, Dr.
MURRAY brought together plastic and orthopedic surgeons
to form a hand unit at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Science Centre,
the city's first. "His concept was to pull together the expertise
of different surgeons, "said Paul
BINHAMMER, once a student
of Dr. MURRAY and now a plastic surgeon at the hospital, now
part of the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre.
Dr. MURRAY assembled a highly skilled team. Among them were orthopedic
surgeon Robert
McMURTRY, who went on to become dean of medicine
at the University of Western Ontario, and plastic surgeon and
nerve expert Susan
MacKINNON, who is now a professor in the United
States.
But before rising to prominence in the field of hand surgery,
Dr. MURRAY gained fame in hockey circles. Serving as one of the
Toronto Maple Leafs team doctors from 1948 to 1964, he was greatly
trusted by players. When cut during games on the road, they left
their wounds unstitched until he could tend to them at home.
"He'd come at you with those fingers and they were just so big,
you'd wonder how he was ever able to stitch as neat as he did,"
said former Leaf defenceman Bobby
BAUN, who played professional
hockey for 17 years.
Mr. BAUN estimates that Dr.
MURRAY put in half of his 143 career
stitches.
Under instructions from Leaf owner Conn
SMYTHE, injured players
were not to be rushed back into the lineup, according to Hugh
SMYTHE, another Leaf doctor and Mr.
SMYTHE's son. "This was a
heavy and not always popular role, "he said.
During the 1964 Stanley Cup finals, it became especially challenging.
Entering Game 6, the Detroit Red Wings led the series against
the Leafs 3-2. Playing in Detroit on April 23, with the scored
tied at 3-3 in the third period, Mr.
BAUN first was hit on his
right leg by a slapshot from Gordie
HOWE and then, after a faceoff,
spun on the leg, which gave way.
X-rays delayed at Mr.
BAUN's insistence showed a small broken
bone, just above the ankle. He spent six weeks in a cast.
But that came after the series ended. During its sixth game,
Mr. BAUN was tended to by Dr.
MURRAY and other team doctors.
After being carried off the ice, he asked Dr.
MURRAY if he could
hurt his leg any more. The doctor replied no. "Having someone
like Jim tell me that, I could believe him, "Mr.
BAUN said.
With his leg taped and frozen, Mr.
BAUN continued playing. Within
the first two minutes of the first overtime period, he scored
the winning goal and kept the Leafs in the series.
Mr. BAUN didn't miss a shift during Game 7, and neither did teammate
Red KELLY, who had torn knee ligaments during the previous game.
The Leafs won the seventh game 4-0 and the Stanley Cup, their
third in a row and their fifth during Dr.
MURRAY's time with
the team.
That year, Dr.
MURRAY resigned and 20 years later joked to The
Toronto Star that it was he who had led them to the five Stanley
Cups.
If he took the connection between his presence and the Leafs'
wins lightly, Punch
IMLACH, then the team's coach, did not. Mr.
IMLACH had become convinced that Dr.
MURRAY brought the team
good luck, the doctor told the Star in a 1972 story.
The newspaper was interviewing Dr.
MURRAY about his appointment
as a doctor to Team Canada for the Canada-Russia hockey series.
In the article headlined "Good luck charm for Team Canada, "
he recalled how during the 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs, Mr.
IMLACH
invited him to a Leaf game in Chicago, believing that he would
bring the team good luck.
"If it had been anybody else but Punch, I'd have dismissed it
as a joke. But he really needed to win and he honestly believed
my presence would make a difference, "Dr.
MURRAY was quoted
as saying.
The
Leafs won not only that game, but, with Dr.
MURRAY in attendance
for the remainder of the series, the Stanley Cup. The Leafs haven't
won a Stanley Cup since.
And the Star's headline proved prophetic. Team Canada won the
Canada-Russia series when Paul
HENDERSON scored with 34 seconds
left in the eighth game.
Born in Toronto on May 14, 1920, James Findlay
MURRAY was the
youngest of three children. His father ran a store at Yonge and
Queen Streets in downtown Toronto and died before the birth of
his third child.
Dr. MURRAY attributed his curvy fingernails to his mother's malnutrition
when she was pregnant with him, said his youngest son Hugh. Within
a few years, she had remarried, and his stepfather helped to
raise him.
An avid athlete, Dr.
MURRAY played football during his high school
and university days, so much so that once, when forbidden by
his mother to play for his high-school team because he had had
pneumonia, he practised and played in secret.
That lasted until his picture appeared in the Star running for
a touchdown. He was immediately placed on the disabled list.
Awarded the George Biggs trophy for sportsmanship, leadership
and scholarship, Dr.
MURRAY graduated from medical school in
1943 and spent two years in the Royal Canadian Medical Corps,
finishing as a captain.
After a year of general practice in Belleville, Ontario, he trained
in plastic surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto
with A. W.
FARMER, whom many consider to be the father of Canadian
hand surgery.
A humble man, who drove less-than-fancy cars, Dr.
MURRAY was
known for his ability to relate to everyone. "He was a doctor
and an esteemed member of society, but it didn't matter to him,"
Hugh MURRAY said. "He considered himself an everyday person.
He was as comfortable, if not more comfortable, dealing with
just working guys."
In 1953, Dr.
MURRAY joined the Toronto East General and Orthopedic
Hospital as head of plastic surgery and organized a specialized
hand clinic, according to Bernd
NEU, another former student of
Dr. MURRAY and now a plastic surgeon at North York General Hospital.
"It's because the hand is such an important part of the body,
not just physically, but aesthetically, "Dr.
MURRAY, a specialist
in soft tissue and the reconstruction of flexor tendons, said
in 1984 to explain the dedication of hand surgeons.
In 1983, Dr.
MURRAY left Toronto East General, where he had been
surgeon-in-chief since 1976, to head the hand unit at Sunnybrook
Medical Centre, taking a cut in pay to do so.
At the time, plastic surgeons could earn $2,000 for a face-lift
and $106.50 for a carpal-tunnel release.
Dr. MURRAY derived great satisfaction from the help his hands
gave others. Once in a clinic at Toronto East General, he and
Dr. NEU came upon a patient with only a thumb and little finger
on one hand.
"This is a wonderful hand, "he told Dr.
NEU. "
Look at how dirty
and callused it is."
After several surgeries, Dr.
MURRAY had restored the worker's
hand to the point where the man could use it once again to earn
a living.
"What to other people would look like a devastating loss, to
Dr. MURRAY and the patient, this was a hand to be proud of,
Dr. NEU said.
As a hand consultant beginning in 1974 at the Downsview Rehabilitation
Centre of the Workers' Compensation Board, Dr.
MURRAY treated
those injured in industrial accidents, often surmounting language
barriers to do so.
"He could speak to them [the patients] in basic English, so they
could understand how seriously he took their problems, and how
everything was being done that could be done for them, "Dr.
NEU said.
In a 1996 letter to Dr.
MURRAY, another of his former residents
recalled how once on rounds, the doctor lifted the sheets to
examine a paraplegic patient, only to find the man soiled. Instead
of calling for hospital staff to clean the man, Dr.
MURRAY performed
the task himself.
"That little lesson reminded me that being a doctor is not just
being a cutter, "the physician wrote.
Not only did he have a natural way with people, Dr.
MURRAY was
a gifted surgeon.
"He was a talented person with original ways of doing things,"
Dr. McFARLANE said. "He had a unique technical approach. That's
what made him different from other surgeons."
Appointed a lecturer at the University of Toronto in 1953, Dr.
MURRAY was first an assistant and associate professor, becoming
a full professor in 1979. He developed the first hand surgery
fellowship training program in Canada in 1981, Dr.
NEU said.
As well as teaching at the university, Dr.
MURRAY trained surgeons
during two trips to Southeast Asia as a volunteer with Cooperative
for American Relief Everywhere, Inc. Medico and led a group of
hand surgeons to study techniques in micro-surgery in China during
the late 1970s.
At the medical meetings Dr.
MURRAY often attended, he impressed
Dr. McFARLANE with his ability to discuss surgery. "He had a
very common-sense approach to a surgical problem, and when everyone
had something to say about a problem, he would get up and clarify
it very nicely, "Dr.
McFARLANE said.
A founder of
MANUS
Canada, a society of hand surgeons, once a
president of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons and the
American
Society for Surgery of the Hand, Dr.
MURRAY was honoured
by the U.S. society at "Murray Day" in 1990 with tributes from
past presidents.
Stricken with Alzheimer's disease toward the end of his life,
Dr. MURRAY died in Collingwood, Ontario, on April 4. He leaves
his wife of 57 years, Shirley, and his children, John, Bill,
Claire and Hugh.
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BINKLEY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-06-19 published
Principal was 'a girl's best friend'
The head of Toronto's elite girls' school raised women's issues
long before the rise of feminism
By Allison
LAWLOR
Thursday,
June 19, 2003 - Page R9
Catherine STEELE, a dedicated educator who influenced thousands
of young women during her 20 years as head of Havergal College,
has died at age 93.
When Miss STEELE was appointed principal of the private school
for girls in North Toronto in 1952, she became its first Canadian
principal. The earlier principals were British, "typical of private-school
education," Miss
STEELE once said. She held the position until
1972, but remained closely connected to the school long after
her retirement.
Miss STEELE had a lifelong relationship with the school, being
herself a Havergal "old girl." She attended from 1923 to 1928,
and taught history there in the 1940s.
"She was just a remarkable woman. A woman that truly lived her
values," said Susan
DITCHBURN,
Havergal's current principal.
"She understood that schools like ours couldn't just stand still."
Considered ahead of her time, Miss
STEELE was talking about women's
issues during the 1930s and 1940s, long before feminism was popular.
She encouraged her young female students to use their talents,
and to try to make a difference in the world. She told them to
be ready to take on leadership roles, at a time when men held
most of the top positions.
"I believe," Miss
STEELE once said, "that when we realize we
are world citizens, we shall be on the road to winning the peace."
Inside the walls of Havergal, Miss
STEELE was admired and feared
by the girls. "She wouldn't tolerate nonsense," said her long-time
friend and colleague Marcelle
DEFREITAS.
Yet behind the imposing
presence was a quick and mischievous sense of humour. One morning,
as she took her usual place at the lectern in the school's assembly
hall for morning prayer, she looked down and found a dead mouse
that some of the girls had left for her. She quietly picked up
the mouse and scanned the room for the biology teacher. "I think
this is for you," she said.
After learning that the students had given her the nickname "Stainless
STEELE," she posted on her office door a magazine picture of
a young girl with a mouthful of shiny new braces. The caption
below the picture read: "Stainless [
STEELE] is a girl's best
friend."
Catherine Irene
STEELE was born in Toronto on March 31, 1910.
She was the only daughter of Irene Wilson
STEELE and Robert Clarke
STEELE, who built up a successful seed business. She grew up
with her three brothers in the affluent Forest Hill neighbourhood
and was sent to Havergal in 1923.
Miss STEELE went on to study at the University of Toronto and
the Ontario College of Education. After graduating in the 1930s,
she spent a summer travelling and then she went to teach at a
private girls' school in England.
Back in Canada, she returned to Havergal, this time as a history
teacher. She taught for several years there as well as at St.
Clement's, another girls' school in the city. In between, she
decided to further her education. After saving up enough money,
she headed to New York, where she completed her master's degree
at Columbia University.
At the onset of the Second World War, England was desperately
short of teachers, and Miss
STEELE answered the call. She boarded
a ship and headed to London, where she taught in the East End
during the Blitz.
She returned to Toronto after the war and found herself without
work. Prospective employers often told her that, at age 35, she
was just too old. Eventually she found a job at Ryerson Rehabilitation
Centre, where she taught veterans.
"I never taught more eager pupils," Miss
STEELE said.
Wanting to help a man who had been blinded during the war, Miss
STEELE read him the entire history course. He passed.
From there, Miss
STEELE went to the Royal Ontario Museum, where
she headed the education department. One of her fondest memories
was loading museum objects into a truck and travelling north
to remote communities to bring the museum objects to children
unable to visit Toronto.
While at the Royal Ontario Museum, she got a call from Havergal
asking her to return, this time as principal. During her 20 years
as the school's principal, Miss
STEELE was a fixture.
"She was a presence that was always there," said Harriet
BINKLEY,
who graduated in 1972. "She lived and breathed the school."
Described as a careful, frugal woman, Miss
STEELE lived on the
school's campus in simple quarters. One of her rituals every
night was to walk around the school making sure all the lights
were turned off.
As principal, Miss
STEELE made efforts to attract girls from
different countries and ethnic and religious backgrounds, broadening
the school beyond its Anglican roots. She also tackled inadequate
staff salaries and pensions, and encouraged teachers to take
leaves and pursue their education.
Miss STEELE "lived a life of service," said Reverend Kevin
FLYNN,
minister at the Church of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields in downtown
Toronto. She encouraged others to do the same. At Havergal, she
urged the girls to become involved in community organizations.
She also had them evaluate the annual reports of different charities
to determine which group had the greatest percentage of funds
going directly to programs.
Outside
Havergal,
Miss
STEELE sat on several boards, including
the Elizabeth Fry Society. She also spent many hours at the Church
of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields, helping with the church's programs
for the poor and homeless.
It was not uncommon to see Miss
STEELE's station wagon loaded
with used clothes and furniture for delivery, Reverend
FLYNN said.
In honour of her lifelong work, Miss
STEELE was given two honorary
degrees from the University of Toronto and York University.
Miss STEELE never married nor had any children of her own. "She
was too busy," Ms.
DEFREITAS said.
Miss STEELE died in a Toronto hospital on April 18. She leaves
her brother, Clarke Wilson
STEELE.
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BINNS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-08-04 published
Walter SCEVIOUR
By Linda Sceviour
BINNS
Monday,
August 4, 2003 - Page A14
True Newfoundlander, seaman, crossing guard, professional Santa,
father. Born February 14, 1926, in Petley, Newfoundland. Died
February 24 in Toronto, of Alzheimer's disease, aged 77.
"In the cold Canadian waters, north from the coast of Maine,
there's an island called Newfoundland, swept by snow, wind and
rain. I wish I had the power to change the course of time, to
live again in Newfoundland, the home of childhood time."
The lyrics of this song I know by heart, as they were taught
to me by Walter
SCEVIOUR.
Walter had the softest heart, the bluest
eyes, a strong wiry grip, and a quick step. It's appropriate
that he was born on Valentine's Day; this was a man who deeply
loved people and life.
Forever proud to be a Newfoundlander, Walter had a tough start.
His mother died when he was a baby. The youngest of four children,
he was sent to live with an aunt in British Harbour, once a thriving
fishing island. He never had any formal education and started
working at age 13 when his aunt died. He talked very little of
those early years, but always wistfully of The Island.
The photo on his Canadian Seaman's card made Walter look like
Stanley Kowalski of A Streetcar Named Desire. He rode a motorcycle,
smoked Player's Plain, wore Old Spice cologne and drank Red Cap
ale. He had a tattoo on his right forearm that said "Death before
Dishonour".
His Newfie buddies called him Thumb Tack because he was a rabble-rouser,
a practical joker with blazing Paul Newman eyes. Walter worked
at the Gander airport, servicing planes until he came to Toronto
in 1949 where he met Phyllis
JOHNSON at a Newfoundland square
dance. Walter and Phyllis celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
in December.
Walter was a hard worker. He worked as a pressman until he began
his second and happiest career as a school crossing guard for
12 years. The children called him "Wally" and their pictures,
thank-you cards, and Valentines tell of how he had brightened
their day. He played Santa Claus at the local mall and helped
at church. The Red Cross recognized him as a loyal blood donor.
He had a great singing voice. The Green, Green Grass Of Home
was his favourite song. And no one could do the Newfie jig to
Muscles in the Corner better than Walter. He taught me to sing,
dance, enjoy western movies, and play cards. "That's the baby,"
he'd say when he won (which was often) -- gleefully placing the
winning card on the table. Walter was also a practical joker.
On Halloween, his neighbours got use to seeing a trick-or-treater
taller than the rest.
A true hockey fan with seasons' tickets for the Toronto Maple
Leafs, Walter escorted many family and Friends to hockey games.
He could get players' autographs like no one else. My autograph
book proves it.
Generous and kind-hearted to a fault, he sent an entire cooked
roast beef dinner to his daughter's house by cab when she came
home with his first grandchild. Walter was a real softie for
sure; a man who ended each phone call with two kisses and "I
love you." He'd always tell us how proud he was of us. What this
humble man likely never realized was how proud we were of him.
Walter is survived by his wife, Phyllis, their two daughters,
Linda and Brenda, and grandchildren Danielle, Kyle, Remy, Amy,
Haley and Kelly.
At his funeral service, the lyrics of Walter's favourite song
were played for him: "Yes, they'll all come to see me in the
shade of that old oak tree/ As they lay me 'neath the green,
green grass of home."
Linda Sceviour
BINNS is Walter's daughter.
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