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PASCAL o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-11-09 published
He made his mark on city and nation
By WARREN Gerard, Special To The Star
Beland HONDERICH rose from plain beginnings to become one of the most influential Canadians of his day, using his power as publisher of Canada's largest newspaper to influence the agenda in politics and business at every level.
At the same time he set new standards for informed, in-depth, responsible reporting.
HONDERICH, publisher of the Toronto Star for 22 of his 52 years at the paper, died in Vancouver at 86 yesterday following a stroke.
HONDERICH was a fiercely private man, almost reclusive, but that didn't keep him from being an impatient perfectionist, a leader whose principal ethic was work.
The Star was his life, his passion.
Among his many honours, and one he treasured, was his election in 1986 to the News Hall of Fame by journalists across Canada for leading "Canadian newspapers into a new direction, taking readers backstage to explore and explain the current events that shaped their lives."
HONDERICH left the publisher's office in 1988, going on to become board chairman of the newspaper and its parent company, Torstar Corp. He retired from that position in 1994, but maintained an office across from the newsroom on the fifth floor at One Yonge St. until 1999.
Beland Hugh HONDERICH was born in Kitchener on November 25, 1918, and grew up in the nearby village of Baden. He was proud of his pioneer roots -- Mennonites from Germany who found religious freedom in Waterloo County in the early 1800s.
"My father was a man who stood for religious freedom, and I am proud to follow in his footsteps," HONDERICH once said.
His father, John HONDERICH, was ostracized in the staunchly traditional Mennonite community because he and young Beland went to hear a speaker from another Amish sect. The shunning, as it was called, meant that other Reform Mennonites were forbidden to sit down to eat with them or to shake their hands.
Nor did his father quite fit in with his thrifty, hard-working neighbours in other ways. A sometime beekeeper, homespun village philosopher, printer and pamphleteer for liberal causes, he was "not a very good provider" in a community where work was next to godliness.
His mother, Rae, was the family's main breadwinner. She was the local telephone operator, a job that included the use of a train station in Baden which served as a home for the HONDERICHs and their six children. HONDERICH recalled that the family never went hungry, but there was little money for anything but food.
He gathered coal along the railway tracks to heat their home and carried water in summer to gangs of workers repairing the roads. In the mornings, he worked around the Canadian National Railway station, sweeping and cleaning up for 40 cents a day.
Despite winning a regional debating championship with his sister Ruth -- they defended the proposition that the Soviet way of life was superior to the American way -- he struggled to pass high school entrance examinations.
HONDERICH didn't do well in high school. And it didn't help that he had to hitchhike 16 kilometres to and from school in Kitchener. As a result, his attendance was spotty and his marks were poor. He was demoted in his second year to a commercial course "where at least I learned to type."
Discouraged, he dropped out of school and got a job as a farmhand at the beginning of the Great Depression, much to his mother's displeasure. "You can do better than that," he recalled her saying on more than one occasion.
The farm job didn't last. His introduction to reporting came about because his father was hard of hearing and took his son to public meetings and political rallies to take notes. It taught the young HONDERICH, who was later to battle deafness himself, to write quickly and accurately.
He inherited a Kitchener-Waterloo Record paper route from one of his brothers, which led him to become the paper's correspondent for Baden at 10 cents a column inch. He created news by organizing a softball team and covering its games for the paper.
When he was 17, fires on successive nights destroyed two barns owned by a prominent Baden farmer. Arson was suspected and the young HONDERICH's coverage so impressed his editors that they offered him a tryout as a cub reporter in Kitchener at $15 a week.
He showed up for work in a mismatched jacket and pants and with his two front teeth missing from a tough hockey game the night before. He didn't shine as a reporter.
The publisher, W.J. MOTZ, concluded after a week that HONDERICH was in the wrong line of work and told city editor Art LOW/LOWE/LOUGH to fire him. But LOW/LOWE/LOUGH saw something in the youngster and persuaded MOTZ to give him a second chance.
LOW/LOWE/LOUGH worked HONDERICH hard. He gave him an assignment each evening to go along with his day job. Ed HAYES, who worked at the Record in those days, recalled in an interview that HONDERICH (or "Bee" as he was nicknamed) was determined to succeed.
"Each reporter was supposed to turn in a story every afternoon at the end of his shift. Bee wasn't satisfied with that. He'd turn in two, three or more.
"He was the darling of the city desk."
As time went by, he improved, becoming more and more confident. He was also developing into a perfectionist. So much so, in fact, that he'd bet an ice cream with an assistant city editor that he would find nothing that needed to be changed in a HONDERICH story.
At first, he recalled, it cost him a lot of ice cream cones, but later he rarely had to pay off.
In those early days at the Record, HONDERICH knew he had a country bumpkin image. So when he had saved enough money, he went to a quality menswear store and asked the manager to show him how to dress. He bought a dark pin-striped suit, complete with vest, and that look became his uniform in life.
A fellow staffer at the Record recalled HONDERICH borrowing a bike from a delivery boy and speeding off to an assignment in his pin-striped suit.
And co-workers described him as a loner who rarely headed for the beer parlour with the boys after work, though he was known to sip a scotch on special occasions. Mostly, he went to Norm Jones' restaurant for a milkshake.
Though he spent most of his time working, he taught Sunday school at a Presbyterian church, and served as secretary for a minor hockey league.
This involvement brought him into contact with Milt DUNNELL, the legendary Star sports columnist, who had made a name for himself at the Stratford Beacon Herald before heading for Toronto. He told HONDERICH that the Star was looking for reporters to replace those who had enlisted to serve in World War 2. HONDERICH, who had been rejected by the Royal Canadian Air Force and merchant marine because of poor eyesight and hearing, applied to the Star in 1943 and was hired as a reporter for $35 a week.
He was proud that the Kitchener city council gave him a vote of thanks for his fair reporting. And MOTZ, the publisher who thought he would never make it in the newspaper business, begged him not to go.
Stepping into the grandly marbled lobby of the Star's building at 80 King St. W., HONDERICH recalled that he was "scared as hell." But he was in the right place. This was the world of Joe ATKINSON.
As publisher, Joseph E. ATKINSON had guided the paper through most of the first half-century and was seen by friend and foe alike as one of the country's leading reformers. It turned out that the publisher and his new employee had some things in common.
Both had come from large, impoverished, God-fearing families in small-town Ontario, and quit school early to put food on the table. "One thing I had in common with Joe ATKINSON," HONDERICH recalled, "is that I knew need."
There was a major difference, however. ATKINSON was a star of Canadian journalism in 1899 when the new owners of the Toronto Evening Star hired him at 34 to run the paper. HONDERICH was 24 when he arrived at the paper, an unproven asset at the time.
But he didn't take long to prove himself. His work was soon noticed by Harry C. HINDMARSH, ATKINSON's son-in-law and the man who ran the newsroom.
HINDMARSH sent HONDERICH to Saskatchewan for the election that brought Tommy Douglas and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (later to become the New Democratic Party) to power in 1944.
The next year he was sent back to do a progress report on North America's first socialist government. His stories were so enthusiastically some thought naively -- positive that the Saskatchewan government asked permission to reprint them.
They also caught the eye of Joe ATKINSON, whose reform ideas were at home with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's, although he never endorsed the party at election time. HONDERICH was marked as someone worth watching. He was asked to fill in as an editorial writer, the newspaper job he enjoyed most of all.
Some critics said HONDERICH's writing lacked flair or style. But it was clear. He explained complicated matters in simple, accurate terms. His idea was to dive right into a story, delivering the promise of the headline in the first paragraph.
In his reporting career, HONDERICH covered a wide variety of assignments, collecting his share of scoops, enough to impress HINDMARSH. In 1946, he called in HONDERICH, congratulated him on a story, then remarked, "Oh, by the way, the financial editor left today. I'd like you to start as financial editor on Monday."
"But I don't know the difference between a stock and a bond," HONDERICH replied.
"You'll learn," HINDMARSH said.
HONDERICH told HINDMARSH he would take the job on the condition that he be allowed to go back to feature writing if it didn't work out.
"If you don't make a go of it, you'll go out the door," HINDMARSH said in a menacing way.
It goes without saying that HONDERICH made a go of it.
One of the first things he noticed from his new desk was a tailor at work in a building across King St. He decided his business section would write for that tailor, for the ordinary person.
His News Hall of Fame citation noted: "He led in turning the writing and presentation of financial news into a readable subject in terms that interest the average reader." He criticized the stock exchange, questioned banking methods, recommended profit sharing, and supported credit unions and other co-operatives.
But when there were major stories to be covered, HINDMARSH often took HONDERICH out of his financial department and sent him all over the globe -- to Newfoundland on the eve of its joining Canada, to Argentina where press freedom was under attack, to Asia with Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent for the first round-the-world trip taken by a Canadian prime minister, and to Britain for the funeral of George VI.
In 1948, HONDERICH, along with 12 other employees, chartered the first Canadian local of the American Newspaper Guild. As president of the union, he signed the first contract with the Star.
Some members of the union were suspicious, however, thinking that as financial editor he was "a company stooge" trying to make sure the Guild didn't fall into the hands of disgruntled left-wingers.
They weren't aware, however, that he knew all about bad working conditions because he had done both day and night assignments as a young reporter in Kitchener.
He served three terms as Guild president and helped win better pay and working conditions. Later, on the other side of the negotiating table, he continued to believe in the need for an organized newsroom, although that view was severely tested in a bitter strike in HONDERICH had become a major force in the newsroom when ATKINSON died in 1948 after nearly 50 years as publisher of a racy paper with principles.
His death, however, created a crisis at the paper. ATKINSON's will had left the Star to a charitable foundation to be administered by his trustees. However, the Ontario Conservative government passed the Charitable Gifts Act, which said no charity could own more than 10 per cent of a business.
The government may have viewed the will as an attempt to escape death duties, but more likely the legislation was an attempt to muzzle the Star, a liberal thorn in the Tory side.
Nevertheless, it became a distinct possibility the paper might be sold to outside interests. Bidders, including beer baron E.P. TAILOR/TAYLOR, were lining up for a chance to buy what had become Canada's most profitable daily.
The Star was granted stays of execution however, and HINDMARSH, the founder's son-in-law, succeeded ATKINSON until his own death in 1956. In the HINDMARSH years, the paper seemed to lose direction and much of its fairness, particularly in the reporting of politics. The paper's reputation was going downhill.
Meanwhile, HONDERICH had been appointed editor-in-chief in 1955 and a couple of years later he was appointed to the board, after HINDMARSH's sudden death. It put him in the position of becoming an owner of the paper.
Walter GORDON, an accountant who was to become finance minister in Lester Pearson's Liberal government, worked out a plan for the trustees to buy the Star by putting up $1 million among the six of them, including HONDERICH. The paper was valued at $25.5 million.
At the time, the sale price was the most ever paid in Canada for a newspaper, and it turned out to be a steal. Under HONDERICH's leadership, Torstar, the Star's parent company, would become a more than $1 billion enterprise over the next 30-plus years.
For readers and the staff, the HONDERICH years had begun, although he didn't take over as publisher until 1966. Immediately, however, he went about remaking the paper. Headlines didn't scream any more, and the silly and the sensational disappeared from the paper.
HONDERICH was putting his stamp on the Star. Reporting only the facts wasn't good enough. He demanded thorough backgrounding of stories to make them understandable to the average reader. Or, as he said, for "my barber."
He created a great newsroom that included sports columnist DUNNELL and leading Canadian writers such as Pierre BERTON, Peter NEWMAN, Charles TEMPLETON and Nathan COHEN, as well as award-winning cartoonist Duncan MacPHERSON.
HONDERICH returned the Star to the principles of Joseph E. ATKINSON, including a reform-centred editorial policy. Unemployment, affordable housing, adequate welfare benefits, medicare, pensions, minority rights, the need for an independent Canada -- these became subjects he demanded be dealt with on a daily basis.
In one of his rare public appearances, he told a group of editors in 1961 that "the basic function of a newspaper is to inform, to tell the public what is happening in the community, in the nation and in the world. You will notice I did not use the word, entertain." He felt that television had made entertainment a secondary function for newspapers. "How much better then, to concentrate on what we can do best, and that is to inform the public."
The change was most evident in the Star's treatment of politics and economics. The background feature gradually became commonplace in North American journalism, and a poll of U.S. editors rated the Star one of the world's 10 top foreign papers.
Critics of the HONDERICH way -- many of them highly placed in the paper -- couldn't wait for HONDERICH's grey, humourless Star to fail, but they were doomed to disappointment, just as surely as the Star's competitor -- the unchanging Telegram -- was doomed to extinction.
Not only did the Star's circulation grow, so did its profits.
Honesty and integrity were words that most people associated with HONDERICH. But many on his staff found him a demanding taskmaster, an uncompromising and often difficult man to deal with. There was never any doubt that Beland HONDERICH was the boss. He wasn't one for chit-chat.
Early in his career as publisher, he all but cut himself off from the social whirl of movers and shakers. He admitted to becoming almost reclusive after finding himself challenged at social functions and parties to defend Star policies he felt needed no defence, especially since he had put them into place.
But he never felt that way about the public at large. The so-called Little Guy could get him on the phone more easily than a celebrity could. His home number was in the book. And in the days when the Star was an afternoon paper, it wasn't unusual for an evening editor to get a call from HONDERICH, who in turn had received an irate call at home from a reader whose paper hadn't been delivered.
The paper would be delivered by taxi, and the taxi company was instructed to report to the editor the moment the paper had arrived. Then HONDERICH would phone the reader to make sure he was satisfied.
The first part of his 12-hour working day was spent poring over page proofs, quarrelling about leads of stories, questioning something in the 25th paragraph, asking for more background, and demanding follow-ups.
He was articulate, often painfully so for the person at the other end of his complaints. His editors took great pleasure when he demanded "antidotal" leads. He meant anecdotal leads.
Notes with the heavy-handed BHH signature on them rained from his office.
The difficulty everyone had in pleasing him and the way he prowled the newsroom won him the nickname "The Beast." And he was called "Drac" by some editors who thought he, like the vampire, sucked the staff dry.
When the paper departed from what the reader had come to believe was a Star tradition, he took to the typewriter to explain the reasons himself. In 1972, for example, he put his initials on an editorial that explained why the Star was supporting Progressive Conservative Robert Stanfield over Liberal Pierre Trudeau in the federal election.
In his rare public appearances, the nasal flatness of his voice often disguised the passion he felt for a subject. However, he was an effective spokesman for the causes he championed. In defending the Star's strong stand on economic nationalism, he told the Canadian Club it was based on the need to preserve the differences between Canada and the United States.
"I think our society tends to be more compassionate, somewhat less extreme and certainly less violent," he said. "We put more emphasis on basic human needs such as health insurance and pensions."
He warned that increased U.S. ownership of Canadian resources would endanger our ability to maintain those differences.
In a 1989 speech at Carleton University in Ottawa, he caused a stir when he argued that objectivity in newspapers was neither possible nor desirable.
"No self-respecting newspaper deliberately distorts or slants the news to make it conform to its own point of view," he said. "But you cannot publish a newspaper without making value judgments on what news you select to publish and how you present it in the paper.
"And these value judgments reflect a view of society -- a point of view if you will -- that carries as much weight, if not more, than what is said on the editorial page."
Just as ATKINSON used the news pages to popularize reform ideas, HONDERICH used them as a weapon in his own causes.
One example was his reaction to a document leaked to him outlining then-prime minister Brian Mulroney's government strategy on free trade. It said the communications strategy "should rely less on educating the public than getting across the message that the free trade initiative is a good idea -- in other words a selling job."
HONDERICH made sure all aspects of free trade were put under the kind of scrutiny the government wanted to avoid, particularly the possible effects on employment and social benefits.
Simon REISMAN, the bellicose chief trade negotiator, accused HONDERICH of personally waging a vendetta against free trade. He said HONDERICH used the Star "in a manner that contradicts every sense of fairness and decency in the newspaper business."
In reply, the unrepentant publisher said: "The role of a newspaper, as I see it, is to engage in the full and frank dissemination of the news and opinion from the perspective of its values and particular view of society. It should report the news fairly and accurately, reflect all pertinent facts and opinions and not only what the official establishment thinks and says."
As publisher, he demonstrated an impressive business savvy for a man who once said he hardly knew the difference between a stock and a bond. In 1972, he moved the paper to new quarters at One Yonge St.
And later, in his position as chief executive officer of the parent company, Torstar Corp., he acquired Harlequin Enterprises, the world's largest publisher of romance books, and 15 community newspapers to add to the 14 the Star already owned in the Toronto area.
At the same time, HONDERICH still was very much making his mark in journalism. He was the first in Canada to introduce a bureau of accuracy and to appoint an ombudsman to represent the reader in the newsroom. In a wider sense, he was the main force behind the establishment of the Ontario Press Council, where readers can take their complaints to an independent body.
As well as his election to the News Hall of Fame, he was honoured in other ways, receiving doctors of law degrees from Wilfrid Laurier and York universities, and the Order of Canada in 1987.
HONDERICH was married three times, the last time on New Year's Day 2000 to Rina WHELAN of Vancouver, the city where he lived until his death. He had two sons: John, who followed in his father's footsteps to become publisher of the Star, and David, an entrepreneur and one daughter, Mary, a philosophy and English teacher. He also had six grandchildren.
Even into his eighties, HONDERICH exercised daily and loved to play bridge, golf and fish.
Charles E. PASCAL, executive director of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, recalled golfing with HONDERICH after he had entered his eighties. PASCAL was in his mid-fifties.
"I expected to be slowed down by playing with a couple of guys in their seventies and one in his eighties," PASCAL said. "Bee, as with everything else, played golf with determination, focus and tenacity. I was quite impressed with his golfing. He was very competitive."
After HONDERICH stepped down as publisher in 1988, and as a director of Torstar in 1995, he lost none of his zeal for pursuing causes. He did this through the Atkinson Charitable Foundation and his own personal philanthropy.
"His role on our board was absolutely essential, forceful, radical," PASCAL said.
"I had the sense that the older he got he became more and more impatient. He was impatient, just impatient, about all that is yet to be done by governments and others to reduce the inequities for those who are disadvantaged through no fault of their own."
He was generous in his giving and, as was his character, he had no interest in public recognition or praise.
"He just had no time whatsoever for personal recognition," PASCAL recalled.
"I think he would have liked to have been around forever if for no other reason than to contribute more."
At HONDERICH's request, there will be a cremation, after which the family will hold a small private gathering to celebrate his life.

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PASCARIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-05-17 published
MAGDER, Lottie
Early in the morning of May 16th, 2005, Lottie MAGDER (née RABKIN,) passed away peacefully after a long struggle with Alzheimers. Wife of the late Jacob MAGDER, mother to the (late) Elizabeth (Murray AXMITH,) Shelley (Annette LEFEBVRE) and Teddy (Alysia PASCARIS,) grandmother to Michael, Alexandre, Aviva and Zale. Sister of Norman (Sylvia) and the late Florence, Saul, Stella and Ida. At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Ave. W. (3 lights west of Dufferin), for service on Tuesday, May 17th at 1: 30 p.m. Interment Temple Sinai section of Dawes Rd. Cemetery. Shiva to be held, Tuesday and Wednesday, visits from 12: 00, with evening services, at 53 Warwick Ave. If desired, memorial donations may be made to the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care at 416-785-2875.

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PASCHAKIS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-06-08 published
PASCHAKIS, Helen Dolly
Peacefully in her sleep on June 4, 2005 at her residence, in her 81st year. Helen, the beloved wife and friend of the late Konstantinos VASILIOU. Loving mother of George and Donna VASILIOU (Florida, U.S.A..) Cherished sister of the late Popy PASCHAKIS, Dimitra VAZOURA, and Leandros. Dearly loved grandmother of Constantinos, and Helen DOLLY. Loving aunt to Elizabeth and Athanasias KOUSATHANAS, George and Marinella PASCHAKIS, Francis and Dennis PIERSON, Nicolaos and Brenda PASCHAKIS, Alexandros and Hilda PASCHAKIS, Marios and Athena PASCHAKIS, and Dimitris and Anna VAZOURA. Friends may visit at Scott Funeral Home "West Toronto Chapel", 1273 Weston Road, Toronto (just north of Eglinton Ave., parking off of Ray Ave.), 416-243-0202, on Thursday, June 9, 2005 from 7-9 p.m., and Friday, June 10, 2005 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Mass will be held at Sts. Helen and Constantine Greek Orthodox Church, 1 Brookhaven Drive, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2005. Interment Beechwood Cemetery.

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PASCHENKO o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2005-09-08 published
PASCHENKO, Alexander
In loving memory of Alexander PASCHENKO, who passed away 24 years ago today, September 7, 1981. It's been 24 years since you left us. Memories of you will always remain in our hearts. Your grandchildren have grown, The ones you've never known, But we've told them all about you, And shown pictures of you too. And maybe someday, They will say this was our grandpa, The one we never knew. Always remembered by your family.

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PASCO o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-03-24 published
DENARD, James Chester Edgar (March 26, 1904-March 17, 2005)
Beloved husband of the late Margaret Helen, August 3rd, 1915 to January 12th, 2004. Cherished and loving father of Dorothy and Lloyd ROBERTSON, Kitchener, Robert and Mary Ann DENARD, Bowmanville, Neil and Barb DENARD, Camden East, Wayne and Donna DENARD, Adel, Iowa, U.S.A. and Lynda DENARD, Wellington. Cherished and loving grandfather of Kevin ROBERTSON, Toronto, Darrell and Tonia ROBERTSON, New Hamburg, Jeff ROBERTSON, Kitchener, Michelle and Richard LAGERWEIZ, Thorton, Allison DENARD, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Patricia and Danny HYNCH, Camden East, Peter DENARD, Japan, Peggy and Peter DUTTON, Australia, Diana and Bryan WEEZNER, Colleen and Joel PASCO, Colleen BUSE, all of Adel, Iowa, U.S.A., Daniel and Lori DENARD, Belleville. Cherished and loving great-grandfather of Henri ROBERTSON, Lucas ROBERTSON, Eric LAGERWEIZ, Meridith, Gabriella HYNCH, Hannah, Paige, Max WEEZNER, Kody DENARD, Caleb BUSE, Aylea DUTTON, Mana DENARD, Nicholas DENARD. Survived by his brother Norman and Lillian DENARD of Wellington. Predeceased by his parents Manley Steven and Maude Isabelle, sisters Corneilla, Alice, Marion, Rita, Gena, brothers Alivra, Edward, Whitney, Manley and granddaughter Susan DENARD. A Memorial Service will be held on March 26th, 2005 at the Ainsworth Funeral Home, 288 Noxon Avenue, Wellington. Visitation from 1 to 2 p.m. Service in the chapel at 2: 00 p.m. Reverend Jeff DE JONGE officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Wellington United Church would be appreciated by the family in memory of our father.

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PASCOE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-02-16 published
WEINBERG, Faye
On Sunday, February 13, 2005 at the Care Free Lodge. Faye WEINBERG, beloved wife of the late Bernard WEINBERG. Loving mother of Hershel, Gerald and the late Eve Shirley PASCOE. At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Avenue west (2 lights west of Duffrin) for service on Thursday, February 17, 2005 at 10: 00 a.m. Interment Beth Tzedec Memorial Park.

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PASCOE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-03-07 published
PETELKO, Leon
Passed away at home in the evening of March 3, 2005 in the company of his daughter, after a 3 year struggle with lung cancer. Born April 4, 1941 in Winnipeg and predeceased by his parents Paul and Minnie PETELKO and brother Robert. Leon had been passionate and dedicated to his careers as a singer, corporate sales manager and in his last 20 years, a landscaper. He loved nature, the outdoors and his siberian huskies, Shasta and Junior. Leon will be greatly missed by his daughter Laura Jane and his family Sarah PETELKO, Margaret, Jim, Harry and Wesley PASCOE, Amelia KEIST, Adeline, Clevis and Simon BALLARD, Michca, Louie, Zoe and Ronan FORTIN, and Jonathan HALL. He was also loved by his many dear Friends in Winnipeg and Toronto. A Memorial will be held at Mount Pleasant Cemetery Conservatory at noon on Friday, March 18, 2005.

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PASCOE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-05-11 published
BLIGHT, Everett " Bud"
Bud passed away peacefully in his 82nd year on March 7th, 2005, at his home in Wilmot Creek, east of Bowmanville. He was born and raised in Whitby. After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1942 to 1945, Bud joined the Toronto Police Force rising to the rank of Staff Inspector from which he retired in 1983. Bud was an active member of the Police Credit Union from 1956 to 1981, the last 11 years as a Director. Bud was an avid golfer and he and Laura spent many happy days golfing in Florida and in Durham with their many Friends. Bud is survived by his loving wife Laura (née PASCOE,) daughter Pat and her husband Ron COX of Simcoe, Ontario, son Scott of St. Petersburg, Florida, grandchildren Don, Kim, Nick, Jenny, great-grandchildren Chelsey, Justin, Chloe, and his brother Don of Bowmanville. He was predeceased by sister Helen and his parents Mae and Theodore BLIGHT. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 14th, 2005 at 1 p.m. at The Northcutt Elliott Funeral Home, 53 Division St. N., Bowmanville. All family and Friends are invited to a reception following the service at the Wheel House, Wilmot Creek, east of Bowmanville, Bennet Rd. and 401.

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PASCOS o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-05-30 published
KIROU, Christina
It is with great sadness the family of Christina KIROU announce her passing on Friday, May 27th, 2005 at William Osler Health Centre, Brampton in her 73rd year. Dearly beloved wife of Anastas, devoted mother to Marlene, Michael, George, and Sandra KIROU. Selfless and loving Baba of Bill, John, Christopher and Stephanie KIROU. Loving sister of Spiro and Petrina PASCOS, Anthony and Sonia PASCOS, Vasil and Alice PASCOS. Resting at the A. Roy Miller Funeral Chapel, 1695 St. Clair Ave. W. (between Keele St. and Lansdowne Ave.) on Sunday from 5-9 p.m. and Monday from 2-9 p.m. Funeral Tuesday at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 1 Brookhaven Dr. at 10 a.m. Interment at Prospect Cemetery. To know her was to love her!!!

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PASCUA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-06-15 published
PASCUA, Leocila Ines (NIDA)
Passed away peacefully at home on June 12, 2005, surrounded by her loving family: husband Guadaflor, son Darryl, daughter Stephanie, brothers Romy and Gil, sisters Evangiline, Feliza, Nancy and Lita, nieces and nephews. The family will receive Friends at the Highland Funeral Home, 3280 Sheppard Ave. E. (just west of Warden), Thursday and Friday, June 16 and 17, 2005 from 5-9 p.m. Church service will be at Epiphany of Our Lord Church, 3200 Pharmacy Ave. at 9: 30 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, 2005. Interment at Highland Memory Gardens.

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PASCUCCI o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-01-10 published
PASCUCCI, A. Michele
Passed away peacefully at Montfort Hospital, Ottawa, on Friday, January 7, 2005. Loving husband of Nunzia D'Avino PASCUCCI. Father of Crescenzio, Pasquale and Joe. Father-in-law of Molly, Denise, and Liz. Brother of Nicola of Bolton, Ontario and Marciano of Frigento, Italy. Grandfather of Suzanne, Katherine, Jacqueline, Michael and Joseph. Resting at the Paul O'Conner Funeral Home, 1939 Lawrence Avenue East (between Warden and Pharmacy) from 3-5 and 7-9 p.m. Monday, January 10, 2005. Funeral Mass in St. Aidan's Church (Finch Ave. east of Warden, Scarborough) Tuesday, January 11, 2005 at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Alzheimer Society.

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PASHBY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-08-26 published
PASHBY, Thomas Joseph, C.M., M.D., C.R.C.S.C., D.S.C. (Hon)
'Doc' passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on August 24, 2005. Predeceased by his loving wife of 62 years Helen. Beloved father of Bill (Liz), Bob (Penny) and Jane. Lovingly remembered by his grandchildren Kathy (Dan), Christie (Max), Karen, Brad (Leslie), Leslie (Andy) and Julie and great granddaughter Grace. He is sadly missed and proudly remembered by his Friends, colleagues and patients whose lives he touched over 90 years. 'Doc' was born in Toronto. He was the only child of Norman and Florence PASHBY. He attended Riverdale Collegiate where he met and fell in love with Helen CHRISTIE whom he married in 1941. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force after graduating in medicine from the University of Toronto. In 1945 he moved to the home in Leaside where he lived for the past 60 years. It was here that he and his 'Katy' raised their children. After obtaining his certificate in ophthalmology, he treated the eyes of thousands of grateful patients at The Hospital for Sick Children, The Toronto Western Hospital and Scarborough Centenary Hospital as well as his private practice offices in North Toronto and Don Mills. He was a very strong family man and provided a wonderful life and role model for his children. He enjoyed his 55 years of summering on Georgian Bay and dozens of family winter vacations involving many trips to Disney World. He coached and sponsored hockey and baseball teams in Leaside for over 40 years. His interest in sports led him mid-career to develop a passion for eliminating catastrophic injury in sports. For his ground-breaking work in this area he was a recipient of The Order of Canada and inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Upon his retirement from his medical practice at age 85, he continued to be very active in the sports safety field pushing for rule and attitude changes and acting as a resource for people around the world. This work will continue through The Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Fund which was established in his honour in 1989. He was very proud of his children, the 'extras' and his grandchildren. As leader of the Pashby Team he encouraged everyone in all their endeavors and was sincerely interested as he watched their lives unfold. He adored his 'Katy' who was his sweetheart of 70 years. He had very good judgment in everything he did. His was a full life with many accomplishments and many good times. A private family service was held on August 26, 2005. Donations may be made to The Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund, 40 King Street West (W.T.P.), Suite 4100, Toronto, Ontario M5H 3Y4 in Doc's memory.

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PASHBY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-08-27 published
Tom PASHBY, Ophthalmologist (1915-2005)
In 1959, appalled by a hockey injury to his son, he campaigned relentlessly for the adoption of protective devices. Today, young players across Canada owe him their health, their eyesight and, in some cases, even their lives
By Tom HAWTHORN, Special to The Globe and Mail, Saturday, August 27, 2005, Page S9
At a Saturday morning hockey game in 1959, 13-year-old defenceman Bill PASHBY was carrying the puck when checked from behind by an opponent. The boy fell awkwardly, striking his bare head on the ice at Leaside Arena in Toronto. He suffered a severe concussion and a broken collarbone; he also swallowed his tongue, and was saved from suffocation by the quick action of a doctor in the stands.
Bill awoke briefly in a speeding ambulance, still dressed in his hockey gear. One of the first to arrive at his bedside at the Hospital for Sick Children was his father, Tom PASHBY, an ophthalmologist on staff.
The young defenceman survived the injury and, today, William T. PASHBY is a partner in the Toronto law office of Borden Ladner Gervais. Yet, the terrible morning during which his eldest son was unconscious so disturbed his father as to change his life. The close call led to a lifelong search for a means to halt such potentially catastrophic injuries. Dr. PASHBY's quest became a campaign and, eventually, a crusade.
Over the years, he overcame hockey's macho posturing, as helmets and visors became as much a part of a player's equipment as skates and a stick. Generations of hockey players, from professionals in the National Hockey League to weekend warriors playing pickup, owe their health, their eyesight and, in some cases, their lives to his unwavering advocacy.
Dr. PASHBY won many awards during his career, including an Order of Canada and induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. He always said his greatest satisfaction came from annual statistics, as helmets and visors prevented young hockey players from losing eyes to high sticks and stray pucks.
Thomas Joseph PASHBY was the son of a butcher who traced his ancestry to Yorkshire. The only child of Norman and Florence PASHBY attended Frankland Public School and Riverdale Collegiate Institute in east-end Toronto. After school and on weekends, he made deliveries by bicycle for his father's butcher shop. The job kept him in shape for hockey, football and baseball, sports in which he participated with more enthusiasm than skill.
At a tea dance at Riverdale, he met Helen CHRISTIE, daughter of the neighbourhood doctor. They would wed in 1941, by which time Dr. PASHBY had graduated with a medical degree from the University of Toronto.
As a squadron leader in the Royal Canadian Air Force, he spent the war years in domestic postings, conducting eye tests while also being involved in recruitment campaigns, according to his son. While in uniform, he became interested in eye injuries and diseases, and that became his specialty in the years following the war.
The Toronto Maple Leafs asked him to treat National Hockey League players, including captain George Armstrong and Tom Johnson of the visiting Montreal Canadiens. The doctor befriended many of his patients.
On most Saturday mornings, he could be found at Leaside Arena, where he coached and managed hockey teams for 40 seasons. In the days when players of every age skated with bare faces and heads, Dr. PASHBY's nimble fingers were often called on to stitch a patient or two at the bench.
He played a similar role at the annual peewee hockey tournament at Quebec City. At one tournament, he bought skates for a child whose parents were too poor to replace his broken pair. The boy went on to an National Hockey League career.
Dr. PASHBY was on duty at the hospital when his son was injured in 1959. He decided he would not allow his boys to play without headgear. "No one wore helmets then," he told the Medical Post in 1999.
"I was doing work with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the time and Bert Olmstead, a left winger, said that you couldn't get any helmets around here that are any good and offered to get me one from Sweden.
"My younger son Bob wore that helmet. At first, he didn't want to go on the ice with it. I said, 'You wear that helmet or you don't play.' Bob PASHBY, who would later join his father as an ophthalmologist, is believed to have been the first player in the Toronto Hockey League to have worn a helmet. The primitive headgear, jokingly called a "white eggshell," is now part of the Hockey Hall of Fame's collection.
While his advocacy now seems so commonsensical as to be inevitable, Dr. PASHBY faced a long battle to change the culture of a sport that regarded the wearing of helmets as a manifestation of sissiness. His son's initial reluctance was shared by other players even as most parents accepted the change. By 1965, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (now Hockey Canada) made the wearing of helmets mandatory.
Dr. PASHBY, meanwhile, worked with the Canadian Standards Association to develop safe and affordable headgear. Over the decades, the doctor's campaigns went from helmets to visors to neck guards. He also argued for an end to checking from behind as well as to checks to the head, a rule change adopted by Hockey Canada three years ago to reduce the number of concussions.
In 1972, on his own initiative, Dr. PASHBY embarked on a survey of all 700 of the nation's ophthalmologists. In the 1974-75 season, before face masks became mandatory, 258 eye injuries were suffered, including 43 blindings. The average age of the victim was 14. "The injuries are shocking, alarming and generally unnecessary," Dr. PASHBY said at the time.
By the 2001-02 season, only four eye injuries were reported, including two blindings.
According to the Canada Safety Council, 311 eyes have been blinded since Dr. PASHBY's first survey in 1972. Not a single one of those was suffered by a player wearing an approved full-face protector.
His untiring dedication to sports safety earned him numerous awards from sporting and medical bodies. As well, the Ontario Women's Hockey Association has named its trainer-of-the-year award after him.
Dr. PASHBY was a long-time teacher in the medical faculty at the University of Toronto, winning the ophthalmology department's Jack Crawford Teaching Award in 1992. (His youngest son won the same award four years later.) He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Waterloo in 1996.
Dr. PASHBY was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1981. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
The Toronto hall also provides a permanent home for the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Award, a trophy honouring "outstanding contributions toward the prevention of catastrophic injuries in sports and recreational activities." The award comes with a $10,000 prize.
Patrick BISHOP, a Waterloo professor and amateur hockey coach, was the inaugural winner last year for his work on impact biomechanics. This year's winner is Karen JOHNSTON, a McGill University neurosurgeon who researches concussions.
Dr. PASHBY retired from medical practice five years ago at 85, although he remained an active crusader until last month.
Tom PASHBY was born on March 23, 1915, in Toronto. He died at his Toronto home on Wednesday. He was 90. He leaves a daughter, two sons, six grandchildren and a great granddaughter. He was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Helen, who died in 2003. The family has requested that donations be made to the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund, a charity founded in 1990.

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PASHBY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-09-10 published
I Remember -- Tom PASHBY
By Joy Salmon MOON, Saturday, September 10, 2005, Page S9
Dorset, Ontario, -- Joy Salmon MOON of Dorset, Ontario, writes about Tom PASHBY, whose obituary appeared on August 27.
In March of 1983, very early on a Sunday morning, I struggled awake as a kitten climbed the bedcovers and sat on my chest. My eyelashes obviously intrigued him, for he took a mighty swipe. I screamed, my husband sprang out of bed and grabbed the phone book. Only a few days before, we had read in The Globe and Mail about Tom PASHBY and his campaign to end eye injuries in hockey. Fortunately, Dr. PASHBY was listed. We called, and he said: "Give me time to get dressed, then meet me at my office in Don Mills."
He bandaged the eye, told me to stay away from kittens for a week and sent me home. I've never forgotten the way in which he calmed me down, and reassured me that my eye would recover.

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PASHBY o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-08-25 published
PASHBY changed the face of the game
Players blinded in 1974 season -- before his efforts to make masks mandatory in minor hockey: 43. By the 1978 season: 0
By Glen COLBOURN and Lois KALCHMAN, Sports Reporters
When Dr. Tom PASHBY began searching for hockey helmets for his sons in 1959, he found only flimsy shells better suited for use as fruit bowls than safety equipment.
PASHBY devoted the next 46 years of his life to making helmets stronger and face protection mandatory in Canada and around the world. In doing so, he quite literally changed the face of hockey.
PASHBY, the game's foremost safety pioneer for the last half-century, died at his Leaside home yesterday surrounded by his family. He was 90.
"Thousands of kids have been saved from serious injuries because of him," said Frank SELKE Jr., a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee and a long-time friend of PASHBY.
"Unfortunately the masses don't know how much work this man has done and that is the tragedy."
PASHBY's labours haven't gone completely without recognition. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1981 and inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, among two dozen national and international awards.
An ophthalmologist, PASHBY launched his crusade to prevent catastrophic injuries in sports after his eldest son Bill suffered a concussion while playing in a Leaside house league game in 1959. Bill smacked his bare head on the ice and was rushed to the Hospital for Sick Children.
"He took what was potentially a very dangerous incident involving me and as a result has saved many other young people from waking up in an ambulance like I did," Bill PASHBY told the Star. "It was scary."
The elder PASHBY already knew about the seriousness of concussions, having suffered one as a high school football player.
"I was out like a light. I don't remember any pain," PASHBY recalled last month. "I do remember going to East General Hospital. I said I was all right, got out of the car, went to walk and fell flat on my face."
After Bill PASHBY's injury, the senior PASHBY forbade his two sons -- Bill, 13, and Bob, 11 -- from playing hockey again without a helmet. It was a hard rule to enforce.
"All I could find were these crazy things made out of cardboard," PASHBY told the Star in 1983. "There was a lot of junk out there."
So PASHBY, a consulting physician with the Maple Leafs, got forward Bert Olmstead to help him import a polycarbonate helmet from Sweden.
"They called Bob 'Caesar' the first time he wore it, but the other parents caught the fever after that game," PASHBY said.
That's believed to be the first time a player wore a helmet in the Toronto Hockey League (now the Greater Toronto Hockey League) and Bob PASHBY's original "white eggshell" headgear has gone to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
But even the early Swedish helmets were unsatisfactory to PASHBY, who began seeking ways of testing and improving them.
"The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association said if I would set a standard they would make (helmet use) mandatory," he recalled this summer. "And so I did."
That was the beginning of a long second career as a hockey safety innovator -- "a hobby that blew up into a big job," PASHBY said when he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1975, PASHBY was named chair of the Canadian Standards Association committee that approved hockey and box lacrosse equipment, a position he held for two decades. His influence was felt almost immediately. In 1976, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association ordered that all amateur players wear Canadian Standards Association-certified helmets. In 1979, the National Hockey League made helmets mandatory for incoming players.
PASHBY also pioneered the development of visors and wire facemasks. He took great pride in the number of blindings they prevented.
In the 1974-75 season, before facemasks were mandatory in minor hockey, the number of players who suffered a permanently blinded eye in Canada was 43. By 1978, the number among players using Canadian Standards Association-certified, full-face protection was zero.
"He affected a lot of people," said Murray COSTELLO, who, as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, worked with PASHBY for three decades.
"You knew he was right in what he said."
PASHBY continued his crusade for safer hockey until his last days. He used Vancouver Canucks' forward Todd Bertuzzi's attack on Colorado's Steve Moore in 2004 to call on the National Hockey League to ban all hits to the head. The International Ice Hockey Federation, U.S.A. Hockey and Hockey Canada had already adopted such a rule -- at PASHBY's behest.
Over the years, he also pushed to ban unsafe moulded goalie masks, introduce neck protection and disallow hitting from behind to reduce spinal injuries. He set up the charitable Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund, which has raised approximately $600,000 for research and education and annually confers a $10,000 award for outstanding contributions to preventing catastrophic injuries in sport.
"He has had phenomenal impact on amateur hockey," said Greater Toronto Hockey League president John GARDNER.
That impact is evident in PASHBY's personal collection of hockey safety gear, which shows the development of facemasks and helmets through the decades. Earlier this year, the Hockey Hall of Fame selected 50 items from the collection for the Hall.
PASHBY was born into a family of butchers in east-end Toronto in 1915. He grew up in the Danforth and Pape area and graduated from University of Toronto's medical school in 1940. He married high school sweetheart Helen CHRISTIE in 1941 just 10 days before joining the Royal Canadian Air Force. In the military, he conducted eye tests on would-be pilots, bombardiers and tail-gunners and became interested in ophthalmology.
In 1948, he started his own practice in Leaside, which his son Bob joined and still runs.
Helen died in 2003 of colon cancer. PASHBY is survived by their three children, Bill (Elizabeth), Bob (Penny) and Jane, as well as six granddaughters, one grand_son and a great granddaughter.
The family is planning a private funeral.
For more information on the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund go to http: //www.drpashby.ca

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