HOLLINS
HOLLOWAY
HOLMES
HOLMGREN
HOLMQUIST
HOLOWACK
HOLST
HOLT
HOLUBEC
HOLY
HOLLINS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-07-12 published
HOLLINS,
George 1923-2002
Died on July 10, 2003. Body willed to medical research. No funeral
or service.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLLINS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-09-22 published
George HOLLINS
By Gayle M.
LARMOND
Monday,
September 22, 2003 - Page A18
Able seaman, pioneer of head Lake shore land, builder. Born January
19, 1923, in Toronto. Died July 10, in Kingston, Ontario, of
cancer, aged 80.
George HOLLINS was born to George Sr. and Alice, from Staffordshire,
England, who had settled in the Oakridge area of Scarborough,
Ontario Like many of this generation, he was raised in the Anglican
Church. George was active in Cubs, Scouts, choir, Sunday School,
Bible class, and the Anglican young people's association. As
a young father, he devoted 12 years to church leadership as Sunday
School superintendent.
George attended Oakridge Public School and Scarborough Collegiate.
Between church and school, lifelong Friendships were forged.
He recorded, "in 1932, a sister, Margaret Rose, was born." He
developed a fascination and, more significantly, a love for his
childhood sweetheart, one Isa
TIPPING who later became his wife
and mother of their three children.
Butting in on everyone's career, marriage and family plans, came
the Second World War. George applied to the Royal Canadian Navy
recruiting office at the Argonaut Rowing Club on Lake Ontario
and was told they were not taking any inexperienced volunteers
for "seaman" ratings. He was ultimately accepted as an "Engine
Room Artificer -- Apprentice in Training." In his Life Story,
George wrote: "There was no swearing-in ceremony, no documents
to sign and no uniform was issued. Just simple instructions and
a rail ticket to Galt, Ontario, in April 1941." George served
in the Atlantic campaigns and moved in rank to chief petty officer.
His ship's name was H.M.C.S. Midland.
Like many who came of age in the war, this was the formative
experience. Life's other milestones were captured in terms of
"before the war," "during wartime," "after the war was over."
George was honourably discharged and returned to his Toronto
east-end home a sick man only to find his mother deathly ill
with stomach cancer. Married in 1946, first child in 1947, second
in 1949 and a third in 1955, George spent his working career
with Ontario Hydro, starting as a clerk and finishing as a recruiter
of engineers. At age 57, he retired to the family cottage and
followed his true calling.
What was his true calling? George loved nature: plants, trees,
fish, birds, animals. For several years he hosted a fishing club
with his buddies. His place became a virtual bird sanctuary as
he distributed bird seed for every species. Dogs were his house
companions, all of them rescued. He supported Canadian Guide
Dogs for the Blind.
At the lake, he will be most remembered for his gardens. On top
of sandstone and thin soil, he built raised beds and co-operatively
gardened with neighbours. He gave away vegetables and flowers
and Friends returned it as winter preserves. To be with him in
his beautiful garden was to be near paradise.
For more than 20 years, George lived with his dogs in the family-built
home at head Lake. He enjoyed independent living right through
his 80th birthday. A persistent sore throat sent him to Kingston
General Hospital on April 1. He said a choked good-bye to his
dog Bozo and walked through the blizzard to the car where the
cancer volunteer driver held a door open for him. In hospital,
he fought valiantly for his health and his life. Never short
on charm, he captured the hearts of many nurses -- "This one's
a heart-breaker," they cried. He didn't want to die. He wanted
to return to the garden. He remained positive and hopeful to
the end even though he described this fight as being "like going
to sea in a sieve." When he died, this larger-than-life lover-of-life
left large footprints on many hearts.
Gayle is George's eldest daughter.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLLINS - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLLOWAY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-06-23 published
Elsie Maud
MILES
By John HIPKIN
Monday,
June 23, 2003 - Page A16
Mother, grandmother, wife, friend and survivor. Born November
11, 1909, in Hackney, London. Died April 27, 2003, in Moncton,
New Brunswick, of natural causes, aged 93.
My mother Elsie's birth in a gaunt Victorian hospital almost
a century ago was shrouded in secrecy, so we shall probably never
know how she came to be the child of maidservant Alice Maud
HOLLOWAY
and an anonymous father. Consistent with her unknown origins,
she was shifted throughout her infancy and girlhood by a remote
and faceless authority from one foster home to another, in one
at least of which she was routinely subject to unspeakable abuse.
Such were her difficult beginnings, but as the hundred-plus family
members and Friends who attended her funeral can testify, hers
was a life of triumph over adversity and an inspiring example
of how a person can actively fashion their own fate.
At the age of 14, Elsie became a trainee maid in a London gentleman's
household, where she learned the domestic arts that she scrupulously
and proudly practised throughout the rest of her life as a wife
and mother.
My father Jack was a regular customer at a tobacconist's opposite
Hammersmith police station, where my mother later worked as a
sales assistant. He was a mounted police officer with a tall
and manly figure, jet-black hair and a winning way with women.
My mother fell for him and they had three children: myself, Naomi
and Anthony. But Jack left my mother, and during the Second World
War, she was unsupported, unemployed and homeless. These were
the days before the welfare state as we currently know it, so
we were often forced to sleep in the waiting rooms of London
train stations, which invited the stern attentions of the magistracy,
who insisted that we children be taken into care. And so we were:
I went to Dr.
BARNARDO's children's home and my brother and sister
went into adoption.
In 1941, mother joined the Auxiliary Territorial Services women's
army. During her service years she met, fell in love with and
married Paul
MILES, an army captain and
son of a Sussex clergyman.
She had three children with him: David, Pamela and Hugh.
I didn't keep in touch much with my mother after I went to university
in the immediate postwar years, but by the early Seventies I
had re-established contact. I learned that she and her husband
had emigrated to Canada in 1956, where Paul had taken up a position
with a refrigerator company. In the 30 or so years that followed,
we restored our relationship, and I was also reunited with my
sister, living with her own family in Nottingham.
A year and a half ago, I was also reunited with my brother, who
is now a deacon at the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. And
so it was that at mother's funeral, all six of her children and
many of her grandchildren were present to bid her farewell.
Mother gladdened the hearts of all who knew her. She was filled
with joy, despite a life that began with difficulty, and which
had known disappointment and destitution. But she was finally
fulfilled in motherhood, marriage and Friendship.
Death's claim is only a partial one. What remains in us and in
our hearts is the living spirit of a woman who overcame adversity
and took delight in her good fortune and her large and reconciled
family.
So even in that most awesome encounter of all -- with death itself
she has finally triumphed.
John HIPKIN is Elsie Miles's eldest child.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLLOWAY - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLMES o@ca.on.manitoulin.howland.little_current.manitoulin_expositor 2003-01-08 published
Joan Beverley
BURNETT
In loving memory of Joan Beverley
BURNETT who passed away peacefully
at St. Joseph Health Centre on Monday, December 30, 2002.
Cherished mother of Bruce and Rosemary, Murray and Debbi, Randy and
Maryellen, Karen and Mark, Linda and friend Kevin, Kevin and friend
Melanie. Will be missed by her grandchildren Shannon and Joel, Kraig
and Brett, Jason and Wendy, Kris and Laura, Sarah and Jennifer, Duke
and Snowy. Also missed by siblings, Shirley
GUINN,
Marilyn
HOLMES,
Jim STILL (Ellen), Rick
STILL (Mildred), Ross
STILL and Winnie
STILL
(Brian predeceased).
Visitation was on Wednesday, January 1, 2003. Funeral service was
held on Thursday, January 2, 2003 at Island Funeral Home. Burial to
follow at a later date.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLMES o@ca.on.manitoulin.howland.little_current.manitoulin_expositor 2003-04-16 published
Lillian Milinda
VINEY
In loving memory of Lillian Milinda
VINEY, who passed away peacefully
at Manitoulin Health Centre on Friday, April 11, 2003 at the age of 82 years.
Beloved wife of Charles
VINEY. Dear mother of Shirley
VINEY of
Little
Current,
George
VINEY of Manitowaning, Sandra and husband
Bruce POPE of Manitowaning, Lyla
VINEY of Orillia. Loved grandmother
of Stephanie and Mark
MacDONALD (fiancée Holly,) Andrew and Katherine
POPE,
Kimberley,
Laura and Marianne
MENARD. Special great
grandmother of Jonathan and Jessica
ORR,
Justin,
Destanie
(BAILEY)
and Liliana
MacDONALD.
Remembered by brother and sisters Violet
HUBBARD-
McALLISTER (predeceased,) Harry
JAGGARD (wife
Gladys
predeceased,) Bessie
LOCKYER (husband James predeceased,) Florence
LENSON (husband Walter predeceased,) Madeleine
CHARLTON (husband John
predeceased), predeceased by sisters Beulah and Iris and parents Guy and
Evalena JAGGARD.
Sister-in-law of Harry
VINEY, Ruth
McCULLIGH
(predeceased,) Lauretta
McGILLIS (predeceased,) Grace
HUNTER
(predeceased,) Joyce and husband Howard
HOLMES,
Glenn and wife
Margaret VINEY, predeceased by Joe, Bob and Edith. Will be missed by
numerous nephews and nieces. Visitation was held Sunday, April 13,
2003. Funeral service was held Monday, April 14, 2003. Both at Knox
United Church, Manitowaning. Burial in Hilly Grove Cemetery at a
later date. Arrangements in care of Island Funeral Home.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLMES o@ca.on.manitoulin.howland.little_current.manitoulin_expositor 2003-11-26 published
Howard Kenneth
HOLMES
In loving memory of Howard Kenneth
HOLMES who died unexpectedly at
home on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at the age 72 years.
Beloved husband of Joyce (née
VINEY.)
Loved father of Bonny and
husband Douglas
KILGOUR of Fort McMurray, Kenneth and wife
Evelina of
Longlac, Joe and wife Joyce of Bidwell Rd., Manitowaning, Diana
HOLMES and friend Williard
PYETTE of Tehkummah, Sharon and Robert
Case of the Slash, and predeceased by son Douglas (1957). Cherished
grandfather of Allison
KILGOUR and friend Jason, Heather and husband
Gopal BRUGALETTE,
Kenny
HOLMES and friend Sarah, Crystal and husband
Rob PERIGO, Nick
HOLMES and friend Melanie, Pam
SHEAN, Pat
SHEAN,
Scott CASE,
Brock
CASE. Forever remembered by four great
grandchildren Jazzlynn, Taylor, Faith and Nikaila. Will be missed
by brother Clarence and wife Guelda of Mitchell and sister Dorothy
and husband Gordon
GERMAN of Crossfield, Alberta and in-laws Harry
VINEY of Gore Bay, Charlie (wife
Lillian predeceased)
VINEY of
Wikwemikong Manor, Glenn and wife Margaret
VINEY of Kinmount, Gladys
(predeceased) and husband Harry
JAGGARD of Manitowaning. Predeceased
by Grace and husband Carmen
HUNTER,
Ruth and husband Bill and Loretta
and husband Neil
McGILLIS.
Visitation was held on Thursday, November
20. Funeral service was held on Friday, November 21, 2003 all at
Island Funeral Home. Burial in Hilly Grove Cemetery.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLMES o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-09-24 published
HOLMES, Margery Sterling Palmer (January 30, 1928 - September
Died peacefully in her sleep at her residence, 111 Avenue Road,
Toronto. Beloved wife of the late Stanley Winchester
HOLMES,
she will be greatly missed by her loving children John Palmer
HOLMES, Peter Winchester
HOLMES and Stephanie van Batenburg
HOLMES
and by her grandchildren Jennifer, Elizabeth, Robbie, Christie,
Marisa and Aaron
HOLMES, and Henry
SEXSMITH.
Margery was an intrepid
and loving spirit who will be missed by her family and Friends
all over the world. A funeral service will be held at Saint John's
Anglican Church York Mills, 19 Don Ridge Drive, on Friday, September
26th at 2 o'clock. A reception will follow in the Garnsworthy
Room.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLMES - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLMGREN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-08-16 published
MURPHY,
C.
Francis, Q.C.
Frank MURPHY died August 13, 2003 at St. Paul's Hospital from
complications following pneumonia. He is survived by his loving
wife, Jean, and his children, Caroline, Elizabeth, Adrienne (Peter
HOLMGREN,)
John
(Leslie
LEE,) Frances and Sarah, and his grandchildren,
Anna HOLMGREN,
Jacqueline
MURPHY and Robert
MURPHY. Frank and
Robert were special companions. Frank is survived as well by
his brothers Bud, Cal and Louis, his sister Josie
BENZ, and many
nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by his parents and his
sisters, Mary
COSTELLO and Pat
MURPHY.
Frank was devoted to his
family and deeply committed to his community. Frank was born
in 1929 in Calgary and lived most of his life in Vancouver. He
loved Vancouver for its beauty and the opportunities it presented.
He graduated from high school at Vancouver College in 1945, and
graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor
of Laws in 1950. He articled at and then practised with Campney,
Owen, Murphy and Owen from 1951 to 1958. He then joined Farris,
Stultz, Bull and Farris, which evolved into the firm Farris,
Vaughan, Wills and Murphy. He was the managing partner there
from 1978 until his retirement in 1992. He remained as associate
counsel until his death. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in
1984. Frank practised primarily in areas of corporate and commercial
law. He particularly enjoyed his involvement in the Greater Vancouver
Regional District. He sat on many corporate boards, including
British Columbia Gas Inc., Mitsui Company of Canada Ltd., Northwest
Life Assurance Company, Pacific Petroleum Ltd., Westcoast Transmission,
Kelly Douglas, Alberta Distillers, and Loomis (Mayne Nickless).
Frank was on the board of many non-profit organizations, including
the Vancouver Art Gallery, Canadian Red Cross Society, Convent
of the Sacred Heart, Holy Family Hospital and St. Paul's Hospital.
Frank was for many years on the board of the Catholic Children's
Aid Society, serving as president from 1973 until 1980. It was
an association of which he was particularly proud. Frank was
active in the Canadian Bar Association and was president of the
Commercial Law Section for two years. He was heavily involved
in the International Bar Association and from 1972 to 1982 he
was the Canadian representative to its Council. Frank's work
with this organization gave Jean and him great opportunities
to travel. Frank was a student of the world, interested and knowledgeable
about history and world affairs. Each of his children has fond
memories of trips, both at home and abroad, taken with their
father. From 1995 to 2000, Frank served on the International
Joint Commission, a binational Canada-United States organization.
This experience gave him further opportunity to travel, including
to many smaller communities in both the United States and Canada,
which were experiences he enjoyed just as he did his trips to
those destinations that are more traditionally favoured. In keeping
with his great interest in his community, Frank was involved
in politics and government affairs. He was of a liberal mind
and was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. He participated
at all levels of the political process side by side with Jean
and Friends, more frequently at the federal level and in particular
in the riding of Vancouver-Quadra. Frank's greatest love was
his family. He was a loyal and supportive son, brother, husband,
father and grandfather. Frank's house at Point Roberts, certainly
his favourite place on this earth, is a site of especially treasured
memories. Frank was keenly involved with his children's activities.
He inspired his children and others with his curiosity, his physical
and intellectual energy and his commitment to principle. He lived
life fully and fearlessly. He met his final illnesses and challenges
in the same manner. He died within the rites of his church and
with the love of his family. He is greatly missed. The
MURPHY
family is greatly appreciative of the care and support Frank
and his family received from the staff at the I.C.U., in particular
from his final nurse, David
BOOTH.
The
Mass of Christian Burial
for Frank will take place at 11: 00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 19,
2003 at Sts. Peter and Paul's Church, 1430 West 38th Avenue,
with a reception to follow at noon at Shaughnessy Golf and Country
Club, 4300 Southwest Marine Drive. The interment will follow
the reception. Prayers will take place at Sts. Peter and Paul
on Monday, August 18, 2003 at 7: 00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please
make donations to the St. Paul's Hospital Foundation at Ste 164,
1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver British Columbia, V6Z 1Y6, Charitable
Registration No. 11925 7939 RR0001.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLMGREN - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLMQUIST o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-05-22 published
J. Grant MAXWELL
June 6, 1922 - May 16, 2003.
Grant died peacefully in Victoria on May 16th, 2003 in the presence
of loved ones. He is survived by his his loving and supportive
family; his devoted wife of 56 years, Vivian (née
MITCHENER)
five children; Anne, Victoria; Mary (Bill
ROBERTSON,)
Saskatoon
James (Marjory
PORTER), Victoria; Kathleen (Darrel
ANDERSON),
Victoria; and, Gregory (Carrie
HOLMQUIST,)
Saskatoon, eight grandchildren:
Joshua and Katie
PENDLETON;
Maxwell
BRANDEL; Kristin,
Melissa,
and Adam MAXWELL; and, Emily and Michael
MAXWELL;
Vivian's surviving
siblings Eileen and Cecil; and, numerous Friends across Canada,
U.S.A., and Holland. Grant was predeceased by his children Thomas
John, Christopher, and Christine, and by his parents Gilmour
and Bridgette
(ZETTA)
MAXWELL of Plenty, Saskatchewan.
Grant had a dignified and distinguished career and life. He was
born and raised on a farm near Plenty. After he finished high
school in Plenty, he attended Saint Thomas More College, at the
University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. While at university,
he met Vivian and many life-long Friends. Grant graduated from
the U of S in 1944.
From 1944-45, he served in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer
Reserve on the Atlantic Seaboard. After completing his national
duty, he and Vivian married and he began his media career and
family.
A print, radio, and television, journalist for over fifty years,
Grant's extensive career reflected his social conscience and
ecumenical beliefs. He began his career as a radio news reporter
and assistant news director with
CFQC
Radio (1946-48.) Moving
on to newspaper journalism with the Saskatoon Star Phoenix (1949-59),
he was a senior reporter and feature writer, and then the chief
editorial writer for the newspaper.
Grant's deep religious faith guided him down a path that utilized
his journalistic expertise while nurturing his spirit. From 1960-68,
he was the Lay Director at the Saskatoon Catholic Centre. He
was also a regular columnist with several Catholic newspapers,
including the Prairie Messenger, Canadian Register, Western Catholic
Reporter, and Our Family, between 1959-69. In the same time period,
Grant and Vivian were the Canadian couple on the international
writing committee of the Christian Family Movement based in Chicago.
In 1967 Grant with Vivian were the Canadian delegates to the
International Lay Congress of the Catholic Church. Between 1962-68,
Grant was a regular panelist on the
CFQC-television show ''In
the Public Interest,'' and a Saskatchewan correspondent to the
Globe and Mail.
In 1969 Grant and Vivian and family moved from Saskatoon to Ottawa
where Grant had accepted a position as Co-Director, and later
Director, of the Social Action Office, Canadian Conference of
Catholic Bishops. While working at this position from 1969 -
77, Grant researched, advised, and prepared draft policy statements
on national, social and religious issues, including Project Feedback,
a qualitative ''sounding at the grassroots'' of religious beliefs
and church concerns across Canada. Also during this time (1972-75),
Grant was a Canadian consultant with the International Pontificial
Commission for Justice and Peace, Vatican City: Grant and Vivian
met Pope Paul 6th while in Rome.
From 1977-81, Grant worked in Ottawa as a freelance journalist
and consultant for numerous and varied clients such as the Department
of the Secretary of State, the Canadian Human Rights Commission,
the Conserver Society Project of the Science Council of Canada,
the Vanier Institute of the Family, and the Committee of National
Voluntary Organizations. During this time, he wrote the book
Assignment in Chekiang detailing the 1902 - 54 experience of
the Scarborough Foreign Mission Society in China.
In 1981, Grant and Vivian moved from Ottawa to Toronto. From
1981-86, Grant served as founding editor of ''Compass, '' a national
magazine published by the Jesuits of English-speaking Canada.
During this time, he was also a member of the writing team for
''Living with Christ, '' a monthly missalette of scriptural texts
and commentary circulated to most Catholic parishes across Canada.
In 1986, Grant and Vivian left Toronto and semi-retired in Victoria,
British Columbia. Grant's faith and desire to write kept him involved
in several projects. In 1987 - 88 Grant wrote At Your Service:
Stories of Canadians In Missions. From 1989-91, he co-edited
Forward in the Spirit, a popular history of the ''People Synod''
published by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria. From 1992 - 94
he co-wrote and edited a book entitled Healing Journeys: The
Ka Ka Wis Experience, which described the history of the Aboriginal
residential counseling centre for the Ka Ka Wis Family Development
Centre, Meares Island, B.C.
Throughout his life, Grant was also actively involved in his
communities. He was an executive member of the Saskatchewan Association
for Human Rights; the Saskatchewan Association for Adult Education
a founding member of the Downtown Churches' Association of Victoria
an occasional commentator on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Radio, Western Region; and a speaker at national, regional, and
local events on both civic and religious topics.
Grant spent over twenty happy summers at Emma Lake with Vivian,
his family, and many visiting Friends.
A respected journalist and community volunteer, Grant always
made time for family and Friends. He was a loving husband, intellectual
companion, and graceful dance partner to Vivian; a gentle, fair
and compassionate teacher to his children; an affectionate, singing,
cartoon-drawing storyteller to his grandchildren; and was warm
and accepting of his relatives. He was a stimulating conversationalist
and a loyal friend. Grant will be greatly missed by all until
we meet his gentle soul again.
There will be a prayer service in Saskatoon at St. Philip's Church
at 1902 Munroe Avenue (at Taylor Street) at 7 p.m. on Thursday,
May 22, 2003.
The funeral and celebration of Grant's life will be held in Saskatoon
at St. Philip's Church at 1902 Munroe Avenue at Taylor Street
at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 213, 2003. A memorial celebration will
be held in Victoria in the fall of 2003, and prior notice will
be provided in this paper. In lieu of flowers, donations may
be made to Development and Peace and/or the Friendship Inn, Saskatoon.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Saskatoon Funeral (306-244-5577).
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLMQUIST - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLOWACK o@ca.on.manitoulin.howland.little_current.manitoulin_expositor 2003-01-22 published
Margaret Clara
LEWIS
(Nee
WHIDDON)
In loving memory of Margaret Clara
LEWIS who died peacefully, January
19, 2003 at the Manitoulin Lodge, age 91 years.
Beloved wife of William
LEWIS (predeceased in 1996.) Loving mother
of Jack (Myrna,) Carol (Carl
HALL,)
Lyle
(Paulette.)
Very special
grandmother to Wendy, Michael, David, Stacey and Sherry. Cherished
great grandmother to Justin, Adrien, Parker, Ally and Hunter. Dear
sister of Bill (Lena) and Nora (Nick predeceased), predeceased by
John and Dorothy. Dear sister-in-law of Doreen
GRANGER
(George,)
Madeline HOLOWACK, Mary
KERHANOVICH (Earl), Catherine
GIFFEN (Garth).
Predeceased by Ina and George
BREATHAT and Margaret and Arden
LEWIS.
Sadly missed by many nieces and nephews.
Margaret was born in Fort Frances, Ontario and graduated as a
registered nurse in 1932. She moved to Manitoulin Island where she
married her husband in 1941. A hard working woman, Margaret raised
her children, worked on the family farm, and nursed until her
retirement. She lived her later years in Little Current, and most
recently at the Manitoulin Lodge in Gore Bay.
Visitation from 10: 00 until Funeral Service 11:00 a.m. Wednesday,
January 22, 2003 at Island Funeral Home. Cremation with burial of
ashes in Elmview Cemetery.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLOWACK - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLST o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-04-12 published
'He kept a little flame of geometry alive'
Superstar University of Toronto mathematician considered himself
an artist, but his seminal work inevitably found practical applications
By Siobhan
ROBERTS
Saturday,
April 12, 2003 - Page F11
Widely considered the greatest classical geometer of his time
and the man who saved his discipline from near extinction, Harold
Scott MacDonald
COXETER, who died on March 31 at 96, said of
himself, with characteristic modesty, "I am like any other artist.
It just so happens that what fills my mind is shapes and numbers."
Prof. COXETER's work focused on hyperdimensional shapes, specifically
the symmetry of regular figures and polytopes. Polytopes are
geometric shapes of any number of dimensions that cannot be constructed
in the real world and can be visualized only when the eye of
the beholder possesses the necessary insight; they are most often
described mathematically and sometimes can be represented with
hypnotically intricate fine-line drawings.
"I like things that can be seen," Prof.
COXETER once remarked.
"You have to imagine a different world where these queer things
have some kind of shape."
Known as Donald (shortened from MacDonald,) Prof.
COXETER had
such a passion for his work and unrivalled elegance in constructing
and writing proofs that he motivated countless mathematicians
to pick up the antiquated discipline of geometry long after it
had been deemed passé.
John Horton
CONWAY, the Von Neumann professor of mathematics
at Princeton University, never studied under Prof.
COXETER, but
he considers himself an honorary student because of the
COXETERian
nature of his work.
"With math, what you're doing is trying to prove something and
that can get very complicated and ugly.
COXETER always manages
to do it clearly and concisely," Prof.
CONWAY said. "He kept
a little flame of geometry alive by doing such beautiful works
himself.
"I'm reminded of a quotation from Walter Pater's book The Renaissance.
He was describing art and poetry, but he talks of a small, gem-like
flame: 'To burn always with this hard, gem-like flame, to maintain
this ecstasy, is success in life.' "
Prof. COXETER's oeuvre included more than 250 papers and 12 books.
His Introduction to Geometry, published in 1961, is now considered
a classic -- it is still in print and this year is back on the
curriculum at McGill University. His Regular Polytopes is considered
by some as the modern-day addendum to Euclid's Elements. In 1957,
he published Generators and Relations for Discrete Groups, written
jointly with his PhD student and lifelong friend Willy
MOSER.
It is currently in its seventh edition.
Prof. COXETER's self-image as an artist was validated by his
Friendship with and influence on Dutch artist M. C.
ESCHER, who,
when working on his Circle Limit 3 drawings, used to say, "I'm
Coxetering today."
They met at the International Mathematical Congress in Amsterdam
in 1954 and then corresponded about their mutual interest in
repeating patterns and representations of infinity. In a letter
to his son, Mr.
ESCHER noted that a diagram sent to him by Prof.
COXETER that inspired his Circle Limit 3 prints "gave me quite
a shock."
He added that "
COXETER's hocus-pocus text is no use to me at
all.... I understand nothing, absolutely nothing of it."
While Mr. ESCHER claimed total ignorance of math, Prof.
COXETER
wrote numerous papers on the Dutchman's "intuitive geometry."
Though Prof.
COXETER did geometry for its own sake, his work
inevitably found practical application. Buckminster
FULLER encountered
his work in the construction of his geodesic domes. He later
dedicated a book to Prof.
COXETER: "By virtue of his extraordinary
life's work in mathematics, Prof.
COXETER is the geometer of
our bestirring twentieth century. [He is] the spontaneously acclaimed
terrestrial curator of the historical inventory of the science
of pattern analysis."
Prof. COXETER's work with icosohedral symmetries served as a
template of sorts in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the
Carbon 60 molecule. It has also proved relevant to other specialized
areas of science such as telecommunications, data mining, topology
and quasi-crystals.
In 1968, Prof.
COXETER added to his list of converts an anonymous
society of French mathematicians, the Bourbakis, who actively
and internationally sought to eradicate classical geometry from
the curriculum of math education.
"Death to Triangles, Down with Euclid!" was the Bourbaki war
cry. Prof.
COXETER's rebuttal: "Everyone is entitled to their
opinion. But the Bourbakis were sadly mistaken."
One member of the society, Pierre
CARTIER, met Prof.
COXETER
in Montreal and became enamoured of his work. Soon, he had persuaded
his fellow Bourbakis to include Prof.
COXETER's approach in their
annual publication. "An entire volume of Bourbaki was thoroughly
inspired by the work of
COXETER," said Prof.
CARTIER, a professor
at Denis Diderot University in Paris.
In the 1968 volume, Prof.
COXETER's name was writ large into
the lexicon of mathematics with the inauguration of the terms
"COXETER number," "
COXETER group" and
"COXETER graph."
These concepts describe symmetrical properties of shapes in multiple
dimensions and helped to bridge the old-fashioned classical geometry
with the more au courant and applied algebraic side of the discipline.
These concepts continue to pervade geometrical discourse, several
decades after being discovered by Prof.
COXETER.
Prof. COXETER became a serious mathematician at the relatively
late age of 14, though family folklore has it that, as a toddler,
he liked to stare at the columns of numbers in the financial
pages of his father's newspaper.
He was born into a Quaker family in Kensington, just west of
London, on February 9, 1907. His mother, Lucy
GEE, was a landscape
artist and portrait painter, and his father, Harold, was a manufacturer
of surgical instruments, though his great love was sculpting.
They had originally named their son MacDonald Scott
COXETER,
but a godparent suggested that the boy's father's name should
be added at the front. Another relative then pointed out that
H.M.S. COXETER made him sound like a ship of the royal fleet
so the names were switched around.
When Prof.
COXETER was 12, he created his own language -- "Amellaibian"
a cross between Latin and French, and filled a 126-page notebook
with information on the imaginary world where it was spoken.
But more than anything he fancied himself a composer, writing
several piano concertos, a string quartet and a fugue. His mother
took her son and his musical compositions to Gustav
HOLST.
His
advice: "Educate him first."
He was then sent to boarding school, where he met John Flinders
PETRIE, son of Egyptologist Sir Flinders
PETRIE.
The two were
passing time at the infirmary contemplating why there were only
five Platonic solids -- the cube, tetrahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron
and icosahedron. They then began visualizing what these shapes
might look like in the fourth dimension. At the age of 15, Prof.
COXETER won a school prize for an English essay on how to project
these geometric shapes into higher dimensions -- he called it
"Dimensional Analogy."
Prof. COXETER's father took his son along with his essay to meet
friend and fellow pacifist Bertrand
RUSSELL.
Mr.
RUSSELL recommended
Prof. COXETER to mathematician E.H.
NEVILLE, a scout, of sorts,
for mathematics prodigies. He was impressed by Prof.
COXETER's
work but appalled by some inexcusable gaps in his mathematical
knowledge. Prof.
NEVILLE arranged for private tutelage in pursuit
of a scholarship at Cambridge. During this period, Prof.
COXETER
was forbidden from thinking in the fourth dimension, except on
Sundays.
He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1926 and was among
five students handpicked by Ludwig
WITTGENSTEIN for his philosophy
of mathematics class. During his first year at Cambridge, at
the age of 19, he discovered a new regular polyhedron that had
six hexagonal faces at each vertex.
After graduating with first-class honours in 1929, he received
his doctorate under H. F.
BAKER in 1931, winning the coveted
Smith's Prize for his thesis.
Prof. COXETER did fellowship stints back and forth between Princeton
and Cambridge for the next few years, focusing on the mathematics
of kaleidoscopes -- he had mirrors specially cut and hinged together
and carried them in velvet pouches sewn by his mother. By 1933,
he had enumerated the n-dimensional kaleidoscopes -- that is,
kaleidoscopes operating up to any number of dimensions.
The concepts that became known as
COXETER groups are the complex
algebraic equations he developed to express how many images may
be seen of any object in a kaleidoscope (he once used a paper
triangle with the word "nonsense" printed on it to track reflections).
In 1936, Prof.
COXETER was offered an assistant professorship
at the University of Toronto. He made the move shortly after
the sudden death of his father and following his marriage to
Rien BROUWER.
She was from the Netherlnds and he met her while
she was on holiday in London.
As a professor, Prof.
COXETER was known to flout set curriculum.
Ed BARBEAU, now a professor at the U of T, recalled that at the
start of his classes, Prof.
COXETER would spread out a manuscript
on the desks at the front of the room. During his lecture, he
would often pause for minutes at a time to make notes when a
student offered something that might be relevant to his work
in progress. When the work was later published, students were
pleasantly surprised to find that their suggestions had been
duly credited.
Prof. COXETER was also known to show up to class carrying a pineapple,
or a giant sunflower from his garden, demonstrating the existence
of geometric principles in nature. And he was notorious for leaping
over details, expecting students to fill in the rest.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's resident intellectual, Lister
SINCLAIR, was one of
Prof. COXETER's earliest students. He once recounted that Prof.
COXETER would "write an expression on the board and you could
see it talking to him. It was like Michelangelo walking around
a block of marble and seeing what's in there."
Asia Ivic WEISS, a professor at York University, Prof.
COXETER's
last PhD student and the only woman so honoured, describes an
incident that perfectly exemplifies Prof.
COXETER's math myopia.
Going into labour with her first child, she called him to cancel
their weekly meeting. Prof.
COXETER, who never acknowledged her
pregnancy, said not to worry, he would send over a stack of research
to keep her busy when she got home from the hospital.
Despite several offers from other universities, Prof.
COXETER
stayed at University of Toronto throughout his career.
Like his father, he was a pacifist. In 1997, he was among those
who marched a petition to the university president's office to
protest against an honorary degree being conferred on George
BUSH Sr. Prof.
COXETER recalled with disdain Robert
PRITCHARD's
telling him, "Donald, I have more important things to worry about."
After his official retirement in 1977, Prof.
COXETER continued
as a professor emeritus, making weekly visits to his office.
These subsided only in the past several months. On the weekend
before his death, he finished revisions on his final paper, which
he had delivered the previous summer in Budapest.
In his last five years, he survived a heart attack, a broken
hip (he sprung himself from the hospital early to drive to a
geometry conference in Wisconsin) and, most recently, prostate
cancer.
Considering his 96 years of vegetarianism and a strict exercise
regime, he felt betrayed by his body. "I feel like the man of
Thermopylae who doesn't do anything properly," he commented
recently after an awkward evening out, quoting nonsense poet
Edward LEAR.
Prof. COXETER died in his home, with three long last breaths,
just before bed on the last day of March.
His brain is now undergoing study at McMaster University, along
with that of Albert
EINSTEIN.
Neuroscientist
Sandra
WITELSON
is tryng to determine whether his brain's extraordinary capacities
are associated with its structure.
Prof. COXETER met with her at the beginning of March and learned
that the atypical elements of Einstein's brain, compared with
an average brain, were symmetrical on both right and left sides.
Prof. WITELSON said she wondered whether there might be similar
findings with Prof.
COXETER's brain. "Isn't that nice," he said.
"I suppose that would indicate all my interest in symmetry was
well founded."
Prof. COXETER leaves his daughter Susan and son Edgar. His wife
died in 1999.
Siobhan ROBERTS is a Toronto writer whose biography of Donald
COXETER will be published by Penguin in 2005.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLST - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLT o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-10-16 published
LAMONT,
Jean
Annette
(ROBINS)
Jean died peacefully, on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 in Toronto,
with her children Doug and Anne at her side; in her 84th year.
Predeceased by her loving husband and friend of 53 years, Bruce
Maitland LAMONT, a former senior international executive with
Royal Bank of Canada. Survived by son, James Douglas and his
wife Kathy, stepchildren Melissa and August and step-great granddaughter,
Elizabeth; and daughter Anne and husband Christopher
JAMES and
their daughter, Kathleen. Cherished sister of Joan
BAILEY and
her children, Robin (Marie,) Joanne (Ken
HOLT,)
John
(Clare)
and Janet (Heino
CLAESSENS) and their families. Remembered by
sisters-in-law Pauline
FLYNN
(Hank) and Meribeth
LAMONT and their
families and the extended
LAMONT clan. Special thanks to cousin
Joanne HOLT for all her support and help over the last few years.
Thank you to the staff and Mom's new Friends at the Kingsway
Retirement Residence, Etobicoke for their Friendship and support
in making the Kingsway her home away from home. A graduate of
MacDonald Hall, Guelph University (1940) and Toronto Western
Hospital School of Nursing (1943) she was always proud of her
accomplishment as one of Canada's first female nursing flight
attendants with Trans Canada Airways. Mom was an avid bridge
player and golfer, a social dynamo who cherished her wide circle
of Friends. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday,
October 18, 2003 at 11: 00 a.m. at Knox Presbyterian Church, 89
Dunn Street (at Lakeshore Road), Oakville. If desired, in lieu
of flowers, donations in Jean's memory to a charity of your choice
would be appreciated.
Mom, a Grand Slam and a hole-in-one to you. Love always.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLT o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-12-24 published
MUTRIE,
Dr.
Eric
Tolton, M.D.
Of Guelph, died at the Guelph General Hospital, Sunday, December
21, 2003, in his 91st year.
son of the late Alice
MUTRIE
(TOLTON)
and Major Robert J.
MUTRIE.
Beloved husband of the late Edith
Grace MUTRIE
(COWAN.)
Dearly loved father of Nancy (Felix)
BAELE
of Ottawa, the late Alice
BEZANSON
(Keith,)
Robert
(Heather)
MUTRIE of Orleans, and David (Jane)
MUTRIE of Thunder Bay. Loving
grandfather of Ian and Amy
BAELE,
Kate and Sarah
BEZANSON, Megan,
Erin, and Laura
MUTRIE, Julia and Eric A.
MUTRIE. He is survived
by his sister, Doreen
HILLMER.
After he graduated from Queen's
University in 1937, Eric worked briefly for the Pineland Timber
Company and later was in private practice in Elora. He served
in the Royal Canadian Medical Corp for the duration of the second
world war, seeing tours of duty in England, North Africa, Italy
and Washington. After the war, he returned to Guelph where he
was a general practitioner for forty years. Highly regarded as
a compassionate, dedicated physician with a lively sense of humor,
he touched many lives and will be greatly missed. The family
is appreciative of the care he received from Nan
WIDDOWS, R.N.,
nurse practitioner, and from Joanne
HOLT. At his request, a private
memorial service was held on December 23. Donations in his memory
may be made to the Foundation of the Guelph General Hospital,
115 Delhi Street, Guelph, N1E 4J4, St. Joseph's Health Care Foundation,
70 Westmount Rd., Guelph, N1H 5H7 or to the charity of your choice.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLT - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLUBEC o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-10-06 published
KARGER,
John
Paul, B.A.Sc., M.B.A.
35 years employed with Atomic Energy of Canada with postings
in Russia, Romania, Argentina, India and other foreign lands,
preceded by 3 years as a pilot with the Canadian Air Force; graduating
from University of Toronto '58
He died suddenly, on Friday, October 3, 2003 of a heart attack
at the age of 68, in Mississauga. John will be sadly missed by
his most beloved Pearl, his loving children Paula, Tomas and
Lisa, stepsons Neil and Adrian, brother George and wife Jana,
sister Vera and husband Igor
HOLUBEC and brother and sister-in-law,
the late Paul and Dorothy
KARGER.
The family will receive Friends
at the Turner and Porter ''Peel'' Chapel, 2180 Hurontario Street,
Mississauga, (Hwy. 10 north of Queen Elizabeth Way), on Monday
from 7-9 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, October
7, 2003 at 10: 30 a.m. at Saint Mary Star of the Sea, 11 Peter Street
South, Port Credit (Lakeshore Road, east of Mississauga Road).
Cremation. As an expression of sympathy, a donation to the Heart
and Stroke Foundation of Ontario would be greatly appreciated.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLUBEC - All Categories in OGSPI
HOLY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-10-14 published
SCHMIDT,
Zdenek, ''Dan''
Died peacefully at home in Toronto on October 10, 2003, at the
age of 80 years. Dan was born on his family's estate in Kvasetice,
Czechoslovakia on December 21, 1922. In 1948, he fled communist
oppression in his native Czechoslovakia and in 1949 he came to
Canada, where he made Toronto his home. He will be lovingly remembered
for his kindness, wit and charm by his widow, Kathleen, his nephews
Thomas HRUBY of Prague, Czech Republic and Michael
HOLY of Montreal,
his cousin, M.U. Dr. Olga
BEZPALCOVÁ of Prague, his step-daughter,
Mary MORDEN of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, his brother-in-law,
Dr.
Jarolsav ''Jerry''
HRUBY-
HOLY of Montreal, as well as many
other relatives and Friends both in North America and Europe.
Friends may call at the Morley Bedford Funeral Home 159 Eglinton
Ave. West (2 stoplights west of Yonge Street) on Tuesday October
14, from 7-9 p.m. The funeral mass will be held in Saint Margaret's
of Scotland Church, 222 Ridley Blvd. (at Avenue Road) Wednesday
October 15, 10: 30 a.m. Dan loved animals and his family is certain
that he would greatly appreciate donations made in his memory
to the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
in lieu of flowers.
H... Names HO... Names HOL... Names Welcome Home
HOLY - All Categories in OGSPI