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DOBRENTEY o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-03-25 published
HEINHUIS, John
Peacefully at London Health Sciences Centre on March 20, 2006. Loved husband of Connie (PIPPEL) and father of Sue (Brad) CARTER. Predeceased by parents Gerrit and Catherina HEINHUIS. Survived by sister Jeannette (Pete) SCHINKELSHOEK and brothers Bill HEINHUIS, Don (Bonnie) HEINHUIS, Rick (Ricka) HEINHUIS, four step children Sue (Greg) RICHARDSON, Cindi (Andy) DOBRENTEY, Wes (Jana) VANDERHOEK and Sandra VANDERHOEK.

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DOBRINDT o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-01-04 published
DOBRINDT, Erma
At London Health Sciences Centre, Victoria Hospital on Monday, January 2nd, 2006 Erma DOBRINDT of London in her 92nd year. Beloved wife of Gerhardt "Gerry" DOBRINDT and the late A. Eric SCOFFIELD. Dear mother of Bill and Patricia SCOFFIELD of Campbellcroft, Jack and Mary SCOFFIELD of Stratford, Dorothy and Garry BALSDON of Burford and Carol and Gordon DAVIDSON of Spirit River, Alberta. Dear step-mother of Karen and Robert SPEIGHT of Southampton and Diane and David SCHNIEDER/SNIDER/SNYDER of Strathroy. Also loved by her many cherished grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Friends will be received 1 hour prior to the funeral service which will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, 746 Colborne Street (at Oxford Street) London on Friday, January 6th, 2006 at 11: 30 a.m. Interment in Pleasantview Memorial Gardens, Fonthill. As an expression of sympathy, memorial donations may be made to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, London Chapter, 749 Baseline Road East, London, Ontario N6C 2R6, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, 617 Wellington Street, London, Ontario N6A 3R6 or to the charity of your choice. (A. Millard George Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements 519-433-5184). Online condolences accepted at www.amgeorgefh.on.ca

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DOBROTA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-09-12 published
Herbert WHITTAKER, Theatre Critic And Writer: (1910-2006)
He discovered theatre in London as a boy during the First World War and was forever smitten by a love for the stage
By Alex DOBROTA with files by the late Donn DOWNEY and Jan WONG, Page S9
Toronto -- He imagined himself a war correspondent on a battlefield, writing about costumed soldiers that bled emotions on a stage. But the struggle that Herbert Whittaker documented and supported for almost half a decade was a real one. As The Globe and Mail's emeritus drama critic until 1975, Mr. WHITTAKER found himself on the front lines of the creation of a distinct Canadian theatre.
And much like the war correspondent who sometimes feels compelled to pick up a rifle in the thick of battle, Mr. WHITTAKER never shied away from using his pen to forward the cause he embraced since early childhood.
"Canadian critics tend to be crusaders," he wrote in a 1985 article. "Their very occupation determines this."
Indeed, when Mr. WHITTAKER, a tall and courtly man, started his career at the Montreal Gazette in 1935, theatre was not high on the national agenda. The country had to survive the rest of the Depression and the Second World War before Canadian theatre came of age in 1953 with the Stratford Shakespearian Festival.
It opened in a big tent and Mr. WHITTAKER was there on behalf of The Globe. He had been with the paper for just four years. "The most exciting night in the history of Canadian theatre," he wrote after the festival's first production, Richard III.
His enthusiasm did not diminish over the years. When he retired, Mr. WHITTAKER was invited to Stratford to accept a gift from the festival. He was offered a prop from any of its productions and, in a rare moment of practicality, he chose the sword used by Alec Guinness, who appeared as Richard in 1953. "I knew his sword, being a hard object, was likely in good repair," Mr. WHITTAKER said. He also wanted something that was closely associated with the event.
Some said Mr. WHITTAKER's reviews were too kind -- less than satisfactory for the theatregoer who wanted to know if a play was worth the price of a ticket. But Toronto readers had the advantage of placing his review alongside the one in The Toronto Star. Its critics, most notably Nathan COHEN, had the reputation of being cold and analytical, and the intelligent reader learned how to strike a balance between the two.
Mr. WHITTAKER offered further reasons to explain the differences. The Star was then an afternoon paper so it could not echo The Globe's review, which appeared in the morning. And Mr. WHITTAKER tended to put positive impressions in his first paragraphs. The Star tended to do the reverse. "I was trying to build up Canadian theatre," Mr. WHITTAKER said in a 1999 interview.
He covered drama with the zeal of an evangelist, showing up at The Globe in the early afternoon to write a chatty, name-dropping column or a weekend feature. He would then return in the evening, Sundays included, to write a thoughtful review for a deadline usually less than an hour away.
The computer had not come of age and his typewritten copy looked like a crossword puzzle with unreadable inserts scribbled in by hand. The reviews were the dismay of the copy editors but represented, given the time constraints, a minor journalistic miracle.
While he covered the theatrical mainstream, he paid equal attention to the smaller theatres, where he would see untried, but promising, Canadian performers and, quite frequently, a play that was making its Canadian debut. He also drew no distinction between amateur and professional performances. "In certain instances, some of the best work is done by amateurs," he said.
Herbert WHITTAKER fell under the spell of stage performance as a boy growing up in London, England. With his family, he moved there before the outbreak of the First World War and events had transpired to keep them on the wrong side of the Atlantic until peace returned. Pantomime fascinated him, as did the antics of Elsie Janis, the musical comedy star who entertained British troops.
After the war, Mr. WHITTAKER's family returned to Montreal, where the theatre scene offered little or no Canadian content and most productions were imported from England or the U.S. With great delight, Mr. WHITTAKER discovered John Martin-Harvey's rendition of Hamlet, an experience that would leave an indelible mark on the rest of his life.
"Young as he was, these experiences shaped his critical standards throughout his career and it is remarkable how often his reviews harken back to Martin-Harvey…" Anton Wagner wrote in Establishing Our Boundaries -- English-Canadian Theatre Criticism.
But for all his love of drama, Mr. WHITTAKER shunned the stage, opting instead for positions as speech writer and art director during his school years at Strathcona Academy in the Outremont neighbourhood of Montreal. As a boy growing up in Outremount, he once played the Toff, a crime solver, in a performance staged in the hall of a local church -- an experience he qualified as the peak of his acting career. He was never seen on a theatre stage again. "I was too shy," he said. "Then I got tall and gangly and started wearing these glasses."
He dropped out of school around the age of 16 to help his family make a living during the harsh years of the Depression. He took up a job as an office clerk with the Canadian Pacific Railway in Montreal's Windsor Station.
But his fascination with theatre never subsided.
"I'm afraid I cheated the Canadian Pacific Railway, for I eventually discovered that by going down to the stacks to search out invoices, I could find time to design costumes for church plays," he would later write in a book about the Montreal theatre scene.
He quit his job in 1935. That same year, he started working at the Gazette as a junior critic who was responsible for just about everything.
And by the late 1930s, he was directing plays in Montreal, taking some of them to the Dominion Drama Festival. He was also designing sets for Montreal productions.
When the Second World War broke out, the army rejected him for military service, mainly because of his less-than-perfect eyesight and because of his somewhat frail physical condition,
"As WHITTAKER recalls, he was rejected for military service," University of Waterloo English professor Rota LISTER once wrote. "[He] did not much care whether it was because he had diminished eye sight, a weak heart or varicose veins; he was simply relieved and let his soldier brother defend the values of civilization while he battled on for Canadian theatrical culture."
For all that, he viewed his work as a theatre critic for The Gazette as a contribution to the war effort. He praised the verve of two Canadian troop shows meant to entertain Allied soldiers, Meet the Navy and Army Show. "His wartime reviews do not seem out of place in The Gazette of the time, rubbing shoulders with news flashes from the front and wartime propaganda," Mr. Wagner wrote.
In 1949, Mr. WHITTAKER joined The Globe as its theatre and film critic and began his long association with the University of Toronto as a director and designer.
At times, he reviewed the plays he directed. In 1950, for instance, he worked on the set design for Going Home, a play written by Morley Callaghan and performed by the New Play Society. He later reviewed the performance for The Globe and Mail. The article's last line read: "The settings were adequate."
He might have chosen either critic or designer as a career but thoughts of a regular pay cheque decided the issue. The remuneration for a designer or director was, at best, a modest honorarium, while newspapers put their contributors on a payroll -- $35 a week to start, in Mr. WHITTAKER's case.
His salary must have improved over the years because when he arrived in Toronto he discovered there were few restaurants that matched what he had grown accustomed to in Montreal. Winston's was one of the few exceptions and Mr. WHITTAKER adopted it. The actors who were appearing at the Royal Alexandra Theatre down the street followed suit and it became the restaurant of the celebrities.
The names of the theatrical giants fell easily from his lips. He said the actor Sir John Gielgud helped him get the job with The Globe by describing Mr. WHITTAKER as "the only intelligent theatre critic in Canada." The favourable notice from Sir John came after Mr. WHITTAKER had bestowed a favourable notice for one of Sir John's performances.
In 1961, Mr. WHITTAKER designed the sets for the 1961-62 season of the Canadian Players, an offshoot of the festival that toured Canada with the classics and provided winter work for some Stratford performers.
King Lear was included in the company's season and Mr. WHITTAKER, who had designed Lear productions twice before, decided to move the play out of ancient Britain into a Far North setting. The set design was serviceable, a bare-bones portable affair that relied on colour to match the mood of the play.
Over the years, Mr. WHITTAKER's name was attached to countless productions as either the director or designer. He had a separate career as an adjudicator with the Dominion Drama Festival's regional festivals and other productions. The Encyclopedia Britannica and the Encyclopedia Americana both asked him for special articles which he supplied.
He was also a frequent recipient of theatrical awards and picked up honorary doctorate degrees in arts from York University and McGill University in Montreal.
In 1976, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. The accompanying citation read: "actor, adjudicator, director and drama critic, whose contributions to the theatre in Canada are legion."!
Long after he retired, Mr. WHITTAKER continued writing theatre reviews and other various articles for The Globe and Mail, The New York Times and the Herald Tribune. He also authored or co-authored as many as six books, including one about Winston's, the restaurant he so often frequented.
And, in the early 1980s, he shouldered the task of founding the Theatre Museum of Canada. "Nobody could talk to him for more than 30 seconds without talking about the theatre museum," recalled Kate Barris, now the museum's president.
The museum was established in 1992 and, over the following years, Mr. WHITTAKER would donate much of his memorabilia collection hundreds of items that included play bills, portraits of artists and even Alec Guinness's sword.
"Theatre was his life," said Kate Barris, the museum's president. "He had many Friends but his main love was the theatre."
In 1999, Mr. WHITTAKER wrote Setting the Stage, which documents Montreal English theatre from 1920 to 1949. The book opens with a sentence that could very well encapsulate the driving force behind its author's career: "In many countries, no matter how thinly populated, no matter how widely scattered across a continent, people must eventually produce their own theatre, as objects on a landscape must produce their own shadows."
But for all his love for Canadian theatre, Mr. WHITTAKER also enjoyed Western European productions. In his free time, he travelled to England, France and Spain in search of the local flavour producers and theatres bring to classical plays there. In one 1978 adventure unrelated to theatre, he visited China at a time when outsiders were seldom seen. His experiences left him somewhat rueful: "A much-travelled man may be a well-travelled man but not necessarily a man who travels well," he later wrote in an article in The Globe that appeared under the headline "What went wrong."
Herb WHITTAKER never married. Before he moved into a retirement home in 2003, he spent two years at Toronto's Performing Arts Lodge on The Esplanade, where married couples are allocated to two bed-room apartments. Mr. WHITTAKER was hoping for an extra room to use as his study. He argued his case, telling staff that he was married to his work. "He only got one bedroom," said Ms. Barris. "It didn't work."
And, as Mr. WHITTAKER's living quarters shrank, the museum's collection swelled with his donations. He kept his typewriter, though, which often clanked away in his room as he crafted letters to Friends and acquaintances the world over.
Well into his 90s, Mr. WHITTAKER continued to attend theatre performances. He was a familiar sight at Toronto premieres and at theatre festivals in Stratford and Niagara.
In 2002, when he attended a Chekhov play at SoulPepper Theatre Company, director Albert Shultz led the crowd in a standing ovation to mark Mr. WHITTAKER's 91st birthday.
"He was quite moved," Ms. Barris said.
By all accounts, he last saw a play the following year when he watched Richard McMillan perform in Through the Eyes at The Factory Theatre Company. Soon thereafter, his frail health confined him to his retirement home on St. George Street, where he continued reading theatre reviews.
"Herb's passing really marks the end of a certain generation in Canadian theatre," Phillip SILVER, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts of York University wrote in a statement. "He had a view of our history that no one else will ever have. And on top of that all, he was truly a gentleman."
Herbert WHITTAKER was born in Montreal September 20, 1910. He died of natural causes in Toronto on Saturday.

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DOBROTA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-09-28 published
Martin POYSER, Hairdresser And Athlete: (1965-2006)
Hairstylist from Toronto's chic Yorkville who ran marathons to raise money for children in undeveloped countries was felled by a heart attack
By Alex DOBROTA, Page▼ S9
Toronto -- As Martin POYSER finished the 2003 Chicago Marathon, he had two reasons to feel proud: His effort had raised a hefty sum for a children's charity and he had run his first big race. On Sunday, the Toronto hairdresser ran his last. He died less than a kilometre from the finish line.
He used his first attempt to raise money for a Paraguayan boy and that thought pushed him to the end of the 41-kilometre route. "Three-quarters of the way through, my legs were starting to feel pretty tired," he told the Christian Children's Fund. "Then the thought of my little guy crossed my mind and I said to myself: 'You know what? This is a good cause. I [have] to do this.' "
Mr. POYSER's death left empty his hairdresser chair at a high-scale Yorkville salon, where he attracted a network of female confidants who admired his tall, muscular frame. His clientele ranged from the banker to the artist to the house wife. His gift for listening made him privy to his clients' deepest secrets; he acted simultaneously as a surrogate husband, a confidant and a workout mate. He was known as "Uncle Martin" to their children.
Martin POYSER grew up in Stourbridge, a town in England's West Midlands. He took up his first job at 10, as a milkman's helper. Martin would run back and forth to the milk vehicle, carrying carts and milk bottles across the streets of his town, said his sister Tina POYSER, who lives in England. While he enjoyed physical activity, the boy always shunned team sports.
His father tried unsuccessfully to initiate him to football and cricket. "I would be left watching the football and he would go play on the swings," Trevor POYSER recalled with a laugh.
As a boy, young Martin was dedicated to his two grandmothers. He also preferred the company of a sister four years his senior to that of other boys of his own age. Tina and Martin were inseparable.
The brother even followed his sister on her first date to a James Bond movie. "Martin sat in between me and the guy all the way through the film and kept his eyes on this guy every time he tried to sneak his arm over Martin to touch mine," Ms. POYSER recalled. "He was determined he wasn't going to give up his place."
After he finished high school, Mr. POYSER studied at a business college for two years, but shrank at the thought of spending his life in an office. At 18, he decided to step into his sister's footsteps and enrolled in a hairdressing school.
After graduating, he spent two years tending the hair of vacationers on a Mediterranean cruise ship and returned home with a passion for travel. In the late 1980s, he decided to experience the bite of a Canadian winter and moved to Collingwood, Ontario, to work as a hairdresser.
"He was the type of guy who wanted to see the world," said Martin KING, Mr. POYSER's life partner. "His initial plan was to spend some time in Canada but he ended up staying."
Eventually, his hairdressing talents got him noticed by the André Pierre hair salon in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood. He was offered a job and quickly made a name for himself as a skilled and versatile practitioner.
But it was his sense of humour and his knack for putting a client at ease that made him popular with Yorkville denizens. It wasn't long before his clients had to book several weeks in advance to ensure a place on his busy agenda.
"Getting a haircut suddenly became this really fun experience because the hairdresser was fabulously fun," said Michelle JOHNSON, a 38-year-old sculptor. "A really quirky laugh, and he [was] very handsome, too."
Mr. POYSER and Ms. JOHNSON became Friends shortly after the first time she sat in his chair for a haircut in the early 1990s. They would talk on the phone at least three times a week and see each other almost daily over a glass of wine or a coffee. "I used to call him so much sometimes, that I would call myself the 'nagging wife.' "
She was not alone. More than a half-dozen clients and co-workers called Mr. POYSER their confidant. Around 1996, when he quit his job at André Pierre, many of them followed him to his new workplace, Hair Excel on Cumberland Street.
During Mr. POYSER's shifts, the salon became a meeting place filled with the chatter and laughter.
"Martin was my husband No. 2," said his colleague, Jeanette UEBERHOLZ, 38. "He filled in the parts that my husband couldn't."
He routinely took her out on dance nights and lent himself to the role of a playmate for her two daughters. He even accompanied Ms. UEBERHOLZ to her prenatal classes, Ms. JOHNSON said.
For Mr. POYSER, who was never a father, his Friends filled the gap of the family he left behind in England. They would religiously attend the parties he threw at his Riverdale house on Easter, Thanksgiving and during the summer season to drink and eat heartily. At one of these parties, Mr. POYSER turned the vegetable drawer of his refrigerator into a massive sangria pitcher.
In 2003, Mr. POYSER decided to leave his Friends for a month to backpack across Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. He wanted to witness how people lived in the South-Asian country governed by a military regime.
When he returned to Toronto, moved by his experiences, he contacted the Christian Children's Fund and ended up sponsoring Enrique, a seven-year-old boy who lived with 20 family members in a three-bedroom house in a Paraguay village. The money Mr. POYSER raised in Chicago funded another bedroom for Enrique's home and a water pump for the community. Altogether, he raised $3,000 to improve the boy's squalid living conditions.
"The part he liked best is that they used some of the money to buy the little boy a bicycle," Ms. JOHNSON said.
Mr. POYSER continued running, though his marathons in 2004, 2005 and 2006 were not meant as fundraisers.
He trained with his Friends, running along Lakeshore Boulevard. The group used to stop at a coffee shop on Queen Street East for a latté.
His partner, Mr. KING, never really liked his new activity because he knew Mr. POYSER had a bad knee, but he also knew he could not be dissuaded.
His father had also tried. "At the age of 41, it's old to do that," Trevor POYSER told his son.
"Dad, you need to get more exercise," the son answered back.
On Sunday, as Mr. POYSER attempted to finish half the 41-kilometre distance of the Scotia Bank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, he collapsed on the corner of Wellington and Bay streets, within 800 metres of the finish line.
Martin POYSER was born February 11, 1965, in Stourbridge, England. He died of a heart attack Sunday in Toronto. He is survived by his sister, Tina, his mother, Christine Bunn, and his father, Trevor POYSER. He also leaves his partner, Martin King.

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DOBROTA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-10-03 published
Bertram LOEB, Businessman: (1916-2006)
Would-be Ottawa rabbi entered the family grocery firm with grandiose visions, only to lose the IGA empire. Later, he built a chain of gas stations and donated a fortune to charity
By Alex DOBROTA, Page▲▼ S9
His father hand-picked him to become a rabbi, but Bertram LOEB had other ideas. After a stint as an army canteen manager, he decided to transform the family store into something much larger. Years later, after he lost control of the IGA grocery empire, told the Ottawa Citizen: "I made a fatal error. Instead of going to study the Bible and Jewish history, I should have gone to Harvard to study business."
As the head of an international grocery chain, Mr. LOEB tended to rely more on his own philosophical considerations than on the forces that drove the market. He followed visions of grandeur and sometimes ignored economic factors so that, in the end, his ambition was his undoing.
The LOEB name, which he fought so hard to bring to the helm of the corporate world, became attached to the several Ottawa institutions that benefited from his multimillion-dollar donations. "His father had always said: 'Make sure the family name retains integrity,' said his daughter Naomi LOEB. " The money was always a means to an end, it was never an end in itself."
Bertram LOEB grew up in Ottawa in a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. By all accounts, his father, Moses LOEB, emigrated to the United States to avoid being drafted in the czar's army around the turn of the last century. But in Cincinnati, he grew nostalgic for Russia's winters and moved to Ottawa where he started a candy and tobacco store. The store was close to Ottawa's train station where business was brisk only around departure and arrival times. In the meantime, he would harness his horses to a carriage and his peddle goods to other stores. It fell to Bertram and his five brothers to tend to the horses and to the family warehouse.
Young Bertram had other chores, too, and often displayed a knack for dodging difficulties. His mother often gave him 25 cents to take to the market and buy a live chicken for Friday's dinner. On one occasion, as he was pedalling home on Rideau Street the chicken flew out of his bicycle basket and began strutting back in the direction of the market. The boy had just seconds in which to make a decision. Should he run after the chicken at the risk of losing his bike? Or should he return home empty-handed and face the wrath of his mother?
"He dropped the bike, ran after the chicken, got the chicken and ran back and found his bike… so they had their Friday-night chicken dinner," Ms. LOEB said.
Often, Bertram used his resourcefulness to make mischief. One of his favourite pranks was to coat garlic in syrup and tempt his Friends with "chocolate-covered almonds," Ms. LOEB said.
Perhaps because of young Bertram's ability to think on his feet, Moses LOEB decided to send his son away to rabbinical studies. He spent four years studying literature and philosophy at New York University, plus religion at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. After that, he moved to Jerusalem to pursue a master's degree in Hebrew and returned home just before the Second World War broke out. In 1940, Mr. LOEB joined the army and served as a sergeant at Camp Petawawa, where he managed the base's canteen.
When he returned to Ottawa in 1945, he abandoned his plans to become a rabbi and chose instead to help his father run his business, which by then had become a successful wholesale operation called M. Loeb Ltd. "In many ways, he was a misfit in the world of business," his daughter said. "There was this side of him that wanted to do business. He was certainly interested in business, but he had no training."
Instead, Mr. LOEB had a vision. Unlike his father, who often paid for his transactions in cash and hesitated to take risks, Mr. LOEB dreamed of turning the family business, in which some of his brothers also worked, into an international venture.
When Moses LOEB died in 1951, Mr. LOEB looked to the United States, where a group of independent grocers had banded together under the banner of the Independent Grocer's Association (IGA) to resist a fast-spreading chain of new stores run by the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. He brought the Independent Grocer's Association concept to Canada and, one by one, began convincing Ottawa grocers to join the franchise operation and to buy their stock from his wholesale business. The IGA franchise quickly spread across the country. By the end of 1952, the chain embraced 34 stores and racked up $3.5-million in sales. Along the way, Mr. LOEB introduced an incentive system in which customers received a stamp for every 10 cents' worth of purchases. Shoppers could accumulate the stamps and trade them for a variety of products.
Much like his father, Mr. LOEB managed his business with a hands-on approach and had little patience for dissenters. "He was very dynamic and he liked to do things his own way," Ms. LOEB said.
His success quickly took him abroad. In the 1950s, after he helped raise large sums of money for Jewish charities, he was invited to Israel, where he met David Ben-Gurion, the country's first prime minister. Mr. Ben-Gurion said Israel needed entrepreneurs like Mr. LOEB and asked him to start a supermarket chain. Mr. LOEB rose to the challenge and in 1958 opened Israel's first chain under the name Supersol.
It wasn't that easy, of course. Mr. LOEB faced stiff opposition from Orthodox Jews who prohibit placing dairy and meat on the same table. Many of them wondered how customers could transport dairy and meat products in the same cart without breaking religious rules.
Simple, Mr. LOEB responded, with his characteristic flair for fixing snags. By placing dairy inside the shopping cart, and the meat in the cart's top basket.
Meanwhile, IGA Canada had developed by leaps and bounds. By 1962, it had posted sales of $140-million and a 20-fold increase in earnings. The chain grew so large that it acquired a company airplane and a computer, both of which were rare at the time.
Even so, Mr. LOEB's resourcefulness was not enough to counter the setbacks he suffered two years later. In 1964, it was revealed that the man he had picked as the chain's general manager had embezzled $1.3-million (U.S.) from the company's coffers. The board of directors, then chaired by the Montreal businessman Charles Bronfman, dismissed Mr. LOEB as its president.
"It was a huge blow to him personally" Naomi LOEB said. "For a number of years, he was very, very bitter about what happened and he turned his back on everything Jewish,
Then, in 1965, Mr. LOEB chose to donate $450,000 to Ottawa's Civic Hospital for a medical research centre. The city's mayor, Charlotte WHITTON, refused the donation, claiming that it would force taxpayers to assume liability for the building. Some observers suspected that Ms. WHITTON cringed at the thought of seeing a Jewish name on a city facility. "Many people thought she was an anti-Semite," Ms. LOEB said.
Instead, Mr. LOEB offered the money to Carleton University for the construction of a new social-sciences building that now bears the LOEB name. Decades later, long after Ms. WHITTON's tenure as a mayor, Mr. LOEB would lead a fundraising campaign for Ottawa's Civic Hospital that netted $14-million to build a research centre named after his parents.
"He had a big vision," Rabbi Reuven BULKA of the Machzikei Hadas Congregation in Ottawa said. "He looked at charities which are more than just empty pits. He liked to do things which would generate results."
Ms. LOEB said her father believed in giving back to the community and in trying to make the world a better place. "He really did have a sort philosophical and spiritual side, which is kind of incompatible with business."
As a rule, Mr. LOEB avoided red tape and relied on his own instincts when making donations. "He was a very trusting guy," Mr. BULKA said. "He didn't need fancy documents -- just his vision and the thrust and the direction and the purpose. That was enough for him."
Those instincts likely betrayed him during the 1970s. By that time, sales of the M. Loeb Ltd. wholesale operation had exceeded $1-billion and Mr. LOEB began an aggressive expansion into the United States by buying a Chicago IGA franchise. Unfortunately, he made several serious mistakes. For one thing, his company's shares were not divided into several classes, which meant such rivals as Loblaws and Provigo could buy it up and plot a hostile takeover. To make matters worse, his brothers had already sold much of their stock, which left Mr. LOEB with control of only 15 per cent. With theft problems plaguing his supply chain and rivals slowly gnawing at his market share, the U.S. business started bringing down the company's stock value and by 1977 the board of directors forced Mr. LOEB to step down as a chairman.
It was a devastating blow and Mr. LOEB sold his shares. For a time, he dabbled in politics, briefly accepting a nomination as the Liberal candidate in the Ottawa-Carleton riding for the 1979 federal election. In an unexpected move, Mr. LOEB withdrew, blaming a bleeding ulcer, but at the time some Liberal Party members gave a different version of events. They said Mr. LOEB wanted a cabinet portfolio and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau refused to make promises.
Mr. LOEB never returned to politics. Instead, he made a comeback in business. In the early 1980s, one of his former employees asked him to invest in a chain of gas stations called Sunys Petroleum. His new project started off with a handful of locations and quickly grew to 250 stations in Ontario and Quebec. "He just couldn't sit back and do nothing," Ms. LOEB said. "He was just not capable of that."
Mr. LOEB successfully steered Sunys until 1996, when he finally retired at 80 yet continued to make discreet and careful donations. His most recent was a 2002 bequest of $1-million to the Bertram Loeb Organ-Tissue Institute at the University of Ottawa.
Bertram LOEB was born in Ottawa on February 6, 1916. He died in Ottawa on September 11, 2006, from multiple myeloma. He is survived by his two daughters, Naomi and Diana, by his grand_son Samuel, and by his brothers Jules and David.

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DOBROTA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-10-09 published
Virginia COOPER, Psychotherapist (1944-2006)
Gifted analyst who soothed the consciences of a cadre of Bay Street bankers, lawyers and executives was driven by resentment and haunted by guilt
By Alex DOBROTA, Page▲ S9
Toronto -- The Toronto psychotherapist Virginia COOPER melded the adventurer and the poet within to tame the emotional torments of Bay Street. Working in an office filled with the scent of pink roses, she attracted Canada's top corporate brass. Investment bankers, lawyers and executive officials all fell under the spell of her soft-spoken ways.
But her success had come only at the end of a long and often unhappy quest.
Dr. COOPER's taste for adventure took her from an unhappy life as the manager of a family-owned fashion store in her native England, to the Mediterranean, as well as Africa and the Middle East. She wrote poetry and published a series of musings on the workings of the human mind. In later years, she designed theatre costumes for the Toronto Arts and Letters Club and sat on the board of directors of Tarragon Theatre.
Those who knew her appreciated her elegance in dress -- she preferred muted shades of brown and black -- and her knack for putting strangers at ease. She could relate to a teenager as easily as she could disarm the apprehensions of a jittery client. "She was always interested in people's behaviour," said John McKELLAR, a lawyer who became one of Doctor COOPER's closest Friends.
As a psychotherapist, she followed the Freudian method, spending long periods of time with her patients and weaving her practice around the themes of guilt and envy -- two forces that also shaped part of her own life.
Virginia COOPER grew up on the northern fringes of London in a small English town that happened to be home to MGM British Studios complex and to the Associated British Studios. It was there that 2001: A Space Odyssey, Indiana Jones and Star Wars were filmed.
The only child of a family of merchants, her parents owned two successful high-end clothing stores that also sold stage costumes. But during the 1960s, Virginia's father fell ill and lost his sight, forcing her to drop out of high school to help her mother at the store. While it was a twist of fate Doctor COOPER would resent for many years. She started out as a helper in one of the stores and, perhaps driven by bitterness, quickly took over the business from her mother.
"She always felt she was unsuited for business," said Doctor Yvonne VERBEETEN, a close friend.
She married a British man, but they were divorced within a year. During the 1970s, she began a relationship with a Syrian man. On a flight to Syria to see him, she sat next to her future husband, Kenneth OSWELL, then a Middle East regional partner at the accounting firm Touche Ross. The two chatted throughout the duration of the flight. "We were the last persons to leave the plane," Mr. OSWELL recalled.
They lost touch for several years only to meet again in London in 1976. They married the next year. By that time, Doctor COOPER had made up her mind to trade her small-town existence for a more exciting lifestyle at the side of a successful accountant who she would follow throughout the Middle East and much of Africa.
She sold the family business, her parents' only source of income, for £5,000, Mr. OSWELL said. At the time, the business had downsized to only one store that brought in profits of around £4,000.
Throughout the 1970s, Doctor COOPER discovered the joys of the Mediterranean from a base in Beirut where her husband was working. She often travelled to Athens to admire the classical monuments there and together the couple toured Africa extensively.
Dr. COOPER recorded her travel impressions in a series of poems that were published in Toronto in 1983 in a collection titled The River Within. One of her poems condemned apartheid in South Africa; another explored the Middle Eastern conflict through the theme of the 1976 assassination of the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.
Amid growing unrest in the Middle East, Doctor COOPER and her husband departed for Canada in 1980, her conscience all the while troubled by having abandoned an elderly parent. "She felt guilty that she left her mother behind, and that she came here," Doctor VERBEETEN said.
It is not surprising that Doctor COOPER returned often to England, visits that multiplied during the late 1990s after her mother became seriously ill. Her death came after a protracted battle with stomach cancer, Doctor VERBEETEN added.
Mr. OSWELL had a different version of events. "She and her mother didn't get along that well," he said. "They had a long difference of opinions on many subjects."
By all accounts, Doctor COOPER never got over having to quit school and always wanted to pursue her education. In 1984, she followed her dream and enrolled at the University of Toronto.
In 1985, she was among the first group of women to be admitted to the Toronto Arts and Letters Club. The institution had been founded in 1908 as a men-only bastion and integration was daunting, recalled writer Margaret McBURNEY, who was part of the same group. "The majority had voted to have women in, but not everybody wanted us there so we treaded carefully," she said. For example, one particular man always sat a table nearest to the exit. "If a woman sat at his table, he could beat a hasty retreat."
Dr. COOPER weathered those tensions with characteristic grace. As a lover of books who enjoyed the works of Thomas Hardy and Emily Dickinson, she was an accomplished belletrist who could discuss the nuances of literature but who could also expound on the history of the First World War. "She just fit in quietly and nicely," Ms. McBURNEY said.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Doctor COOPER continued her pursuit of higher education and completed a masters degree and a doctorate in educational psychology. "She worked extremely hard," said Pat FAIRHEAD, a painter and friend. "She was intense&hellip She wanted it."
In the meantime, her marriage was disintegrating. She and Mr. OSWELL were divorced in 1990, around the same time she started her psychotherapy practice, and she channelled her energy into her work.
Her office mate described Doctor COOPER as a dedicated practitioner who went out of her way to accommodate the schedule of her clients. She never sought out the bankers and corporate officials that came to rely on her advice and care, Doctor Klaus WIEDERMANN said. They found her.
"Somebody who works with Bay Street bankers… has to be somebody who's not threatened," he said. "I think she was able to say, okay, these are [just] people.
"There were a lot of lawyers and bankers, but I think that had more to do with a circle of referrals. It means that she was able to work with people like that in ways that made them feel comfortable. She had the ability to make people feel very relaxed and welcome early on."
Dr. COOPER's work with a patient could span years as she attempted to uncover the intricacies of the mother-child relationship and how that affected the person's existence. This involved drawing from her own experience and personality to give direction to her work, Doctor WIEDERMANN said. She continued to treat clients until the very end of her life, carrying out interviews by telephone when illness confined her to her apartment.
"She was in some way trying to give meaning to her life," Doctor WIEDERMANN said. "It gave her a sense that she was doing something that was meaningful and beneficial to others. It gave her a sense that she was participating in the world."
In her will, Doctor COOPER gave $500,000 to Woodsworth College -- money she wished to be turned into bursaries for adult women who want to pursue higher education. She also donated $500,000 to the Ontario Arts Foundation for costume designers in mid-career wishing to enrich their craft in terms of research and travel.
Virginia COOPER was born in Borehamwood, England, on January 27, 1944. She died of stomach cancer in Toronto on August 27, 2006.

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DOBROWOLSKI o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-04-04 published
DOBROWOLSKI, Maria 'Mary'
Peacefully at Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto on Saturday, April 1, 2006, in her 82nd year. Cherished mother of Irene COOPER, Eugene and his wife Darlene, Libby and her husband Glen PALMER, Sandy and her husband Rob DENT. Devoted grandmother of 16 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. She will be sadly missed by her many close Friends. The family will receive Friends at the Doney Funeral Home, 318 Main St. E., Shelburne on Friday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. A memorial service will be held at the Kingdom Hall, Hwy. 10 N., Shelburne on Saturday, April 8, 2006 at 2: 00 p.m. Cremation. Donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or charity of choice would be appreciated.

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DOBSLAW o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-01-11 published
KNAPPETT, Alfred
Peacefully at Fudger House on Monday, January 9th, 2006. Alfred KNAPPETT, dearly beloved husband of the late Alma. Dear father of Chris, Isabel, Alan and Rush. Loving grandfather of Justin and Jeremy. Dear brother of Inez and her husband Helmut DOBSLAW, Lorna and her husband Cy CASSINI, Rodney KNAPPETT and the late Leda WANSBOROUGH and her husband Ken. Resting at the Newediuk Funeral Home, Kipling Chapel, 2104 Kipling Ave., Etobicoke (two blocks north of Rexdale Blvd.) from Sunday 11 a.m. until service time in the chapel at 12 noon, followed by cremation.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.grey_county.artemesia.flesherton.the_flesherton_advance 2006-06-28 published
BARNES, Milton
On behalf of Lone, Sheldon, Aaron and Sabrina BARNES, the family of the late Milton BARNES. Thanks to all who came together to make the Silent Auction/Benefit Dinner so successful. Jenny HANLEY, Janien NEWELL, Lee-Anne TEETER for organizing. A huge thanks to Ethan MISENER and his hospitality class, as well as three terrific ladies Ruth BUTLER, Kris GOSS and Muriel STEWARD/STEWART/STUART. Thanks to Macphail Students Council for helping with cleanup. Thanks also to Frank STODDART and his staff, and Linda McCREARY and Krista McCORMICK. Generous Donators to the Silent Auction: Feversham Agricultural Society, Valerie WASSERFALL, Country Critters, P.J. Knickerbockers, Top of the Rock, Monica GREEN, Quilter's Line, Ice Cream Festival Committee, Mrs. Isherwood's J.K. class, Highlights, Osprey School, Grey Highlands School, Macphail School, The Ferguson Family, The Macphail Rainbows Program, Janien NEWELL, Beth KENNEDY, A Frame in Time, Jane GARLAND, Kent Little Construction, Century House, Pinewood Training Centre, Sharon WICKENS, Owen Sound Tim Horton's, Farmstead, Cole TEETER, Mulligan Family, Gibbons/Teeter Family, Highland Glen Golf Club, Norm SMITH, Jolley's, DL Class Beavercrest, Hair Fair, Eckhardt's Floral Treasures, Duncan Home Hardware, Al KARN, Chapman's Ice Cream, Scotiabank, Markdale, Magee's Gas Bar, Hutchinson's Auto, Ruth BUTLER, Vera BEATON, Ice River Springs, Meaford Community School Staff, Danielle's Gourmet Food, A.W. Sills Sales and Service, Debbie DOBSON, Nordic Furniture. Other donations: Murray's Print Shop, Dundalk Herald, Ice River Springs, Neilson's Dairy, Terry ANGER, Flanigan's Food Service, West Grey Premium Beef, Mrs. Kringies, Centre Grey Builders, Pro Hardware and others who wish to remain anonymous. Special Thanks to: Joan McGEE, Donna GRUMMETT, Beth KENNEDY, Jolley's, Teresa and Harvey HUTCHINSON/HUTCHISON, Dani TEETER, Gena WELLWOOD, Marci Pearson LANKTREE. It takes a special community to pull off an event like this. Thanks to everyone else for donations, coming to the. dinner; and bidding. Your thoughtfulness and support are greatly appreciated.
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DOBSON o@ca.on.grey_county.owen_sound.the_sun_times 2006-02-28 published
COUPLAND, Ruth Eileen (née GORRILL)
Peacefully on Saturday, February 25th, 2006, Ruth Eileen COUPLAND passed away at Lions Personal Care Centre at the age of 85. Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Linda (Don) KNIGHT of Owen Sound, Ontario, Peggy of Ottawa, Nancy (Kurt) CLYDE of Winnipeg, and son, Ken (Marilyn) of Winnipeg, grandchildren, Geoff (Allison) KNIGHT, Gary, Brennan, and Pamela CLYDE, and Vincent and Laura COUPLAND. And great-grandchildren Meesha ALBANO and Kiefer KNIGHT of London, Ontario. She is also survived by her sisters, Clova DOBSON and Olive (Edgar) GAGE, as well as many nieces and nephews. Ruth was predeceased by her husband, Robert, in 1985. Ruth was born in Winnipeg on March 24th, 1920, where she lived most of her life. She was a lifelong member of Young United Church where she made many lasting Friendships. Throughout her life she was very much involved in the Girl Guides of Canada organization, in later life becoming a member of the Trefoil Guild. Mom worked for Clarks-Gambles in the payroll department of MacLeods for many years. Mom enjoyed her family and her Friends immensely. In her retirement years she traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, New York, Las Vegas, and Hawaii. She was a picture taker and loved to share her photos with family and Friends. Cremation has taken place. A celebration of Mom's life will take place on Wednesday March 1st, at 11: 00 a.m., at Young United Church, Winnipeg. A reception will follow the service. The family would like to thank the caring staff at Lions Personal Care Centre for their excellent care over the last two years.
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DOBSON o@ca.on.grey_county.owen_sound.the_sun_times 2006-07-08 published
BROWNLEE, Leila Irene (née WARD)
Leila BROWNLEE, daughter of the late John and Louise MOORE) WARD, passed away at Errinrung Residence in Thornbury on Thursday, July 6, 2006 in her 92nd year. Predeceased by her beloved husband Russell BROWNLEE in 1991. Much loved mother of Fern VERESHACK of Meaford, Irene (Mrs. Bill FOLLIS) of Owen Sound, and Linda CLARKE also of Meaford, and predeceased by a son-in-law Robert CLARKE. Predeceased also by a son, Clifford BROWNLEE, in 1995 and remembered by a daughter-in-law Shirley BROWNLEE of Collingwood. Fondly remembered grandmother of Michael VERESHACK of Winnipeg Brian FOLLIS and Jeff (Lois) FOLLIS both of Owen Sound; Tracey ARNOTT of London; Ron (Darlene) BROWNLEE of Collingwood; Ryan (Sarah) CLARKE of Kitchener; Amy CLARKE of Meaford; and Shawn CLARKE of Kitchener and fondly remembered by a granddaughter-in-law Marjorie BROWNLEE of Guelph. Sadly missed great-grandmother of Jeremy and Alison BROWNLEE; Amy VERESHACK, Ashley and Kyle BROWNLEE, and Jessica and Jocelyn FOLLIS. Predeceased by two grand_sons, Larry BROWNLEE and Robert VERESHACK, a sister, Edna DOBSON, and a brother George WARD and survived by a sister-in-law Muriel CRAIG of Collingwood. Funeral Services will be conducted at the Ferguson Funeral Home, The Valley Chapel, in Thornbury on Saturday, July 8 at 11: 00 a.m. where family will receive Friends the hour prior to service. Interment and committal service to follow at Thornbury-Clarksburg Union Cemetery. As your expression of sympathy, donations to Grace United Church or a charity of choice would be appreciated.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.grey_county.owen_sound.the_sun_times 2006-11-09 published
FLETCHER, Agnes Emma (AUSTIN)
At her residence at Errinrung Nursing and Retirement Home in Thornbury on Wednesday November 8, 2006. The former Agnes AUSTIN, beloved wife of the late Joseph Maxwell 'Max' FLETCHER of Meaford, in her 86th year. Dearly loved 'Mom' of Bill (Marion) of Calgary Gloria (Harry ATTFIELD) of Etobicoke; Bob of Collingwood; and Barbara (David McEACHERN) of R.R.#2, Collingwood. Sadly missed Grandma of Chris and Adam; and Meghan and Ashley and great-grandmother of five. Dear sister of George (Hazel) of Toronto; Bill of Meaford Roy (Ethel) of Hamilton; Frances SOMMER of Medicine Hat, Alberta Gwen (Gord CRAMP) of Meaford; Don (Fran) of Meaford; Harold (Winnie) of Collingwood; June (Gord WHITE/WHYTE) of Meaford; Gladys (Howard DOBSON) of Meaford; and Shirley AUSTIN of Kelowna, British Columbia. Predeceased by a brother Les AUSTIN and fondly remembered by many nieces and nephews and their families. Family will receive Friends at the Ferguson Funeral Home, 48 Boucher St. E., in Meaford on Thursday evening from 7 until 9 p.m. Funeral services will be conducted at Christ Church Anglican in Meaford on Friday November 10 at 1: 30 p.m. Interment and committal services to follow at Lakeview Cemetery, Meaford. As your expression of sympathy, donations to the Alzheimer Society or a charity of your choice would be appreciated.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-04-01 published
HOLMAN, Klaas Derk
Promoted to glory after a brief and courageous battle with cancer on Thursday, March 30th, 2006 at London Health Sciences Centre, Victoria Campus, Klaas Derk HOLMAN of Mount Brydges, in his 70th year. Beloved husband of Harmke HOLMAN. Loving father of Fred (Angie) HOLMAN, Anita VERHULP (Fernando), Lois (Henry) GRIFFIOEN, Walter (Nelia) HOLMAN and Angela (Gregory) SKROBAR. Dear Opa of Crystal (Matt) DOBSON, April, Heather, Rachel (Tim) LUU, Abby (Ken) BAER, Marcia (Nick), Cynthia (Darcy), Corina, Kurtis, Janna, Samantha, Jessica, Clara, Megan, Alexander, Makena and Melissa. Sadly missed by great-granddaughter Paige. Survived by brothers Dick (Jane), Harry (Karen), Anne (Maaike), Jan (Sjouke) and sisters Liene (Willem) and Alie (Piet-Jan). Predeceased by infant daughter Hilda Alice, infant son Harry Andrew, grand_son Kevin and son-in-law Arnold. Friends may call at the Elliott-Madill Funeral Home, Mount Brydges on Monday, April 3rd. from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Service to follow on Tuesday from Hope Community Christian Reformed Church, Mount Brydges commencing at 1: 30 p.m. Rev. Vic VANDERMOLEN officiating. Interment Mount Brydges Cemetery. Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Strathroy Community Christian School would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-04-05 published
JAQUES, Clifton " Clif" W.
At South Huron Hospital, Exeter on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 Clifton (Clif) W. JAQUES of Exeter in his 81st year. Beloved husband of Leona (DOBSON) JAQUES. Dear father of Yvonne and John ELLIOT/ELLIOTT of Thorndale and Dalton and Sandy JAQUES of Usborne Township. Proud grandfather of of Leanne and Andrew and Charlsey and Kelsey. Dear brother of Ross JAQUES of Hensall. Predeceased by a sister Verna and her husband Sam BOWER, a brother Oliver JAQUES and his wife Wilhelmine, a sister-in-law Helen JAQUES and an infant brother James Frederick. Friends may call at the Hopper Hockey Funeral Home, 370 William Street, 1 west of Main, Exeter on Thursday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. where the funeral service will be held on Friday, April 7th at 1: 30 p.m. with Rev. Michelle DOWN officiating. Interment Exeter Cemetery. Donation to the South Huron Hospital would be appreciated by the family. Condolences may be forwarded through www.hopperhockeyfh.com.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-04-11 published
WILSON, Lloyd F.
Peacefully at Saint Marys Memorial Hospital, with his family at his side, on Monday, April 10, 2006, Lloyd F. WILSON age 78 years. Loving husband of Elizabeth J. (Ritchie) WILSON of Saint Marys. Dear father of Bonnie HERBERT and husband Art of Petrolia and proud grandfather of Daniel and Tyler. Dear brother of Grace DUNDAS of California. Helen NICKELS of Bracebridge. Dear brother-in-law of Gladys and Allan ELLIOT/ELLIOTT and James RITCHIE all of Saint Marys. Sadly missed by many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his parents Frederick Charles WILSON and the former Jenny DOBSON, brother and sisters Laura WEBB, Bertha WEBB, Hazel FOX, Elsie WEBB, Gladys KNIGHT, Russell WILSON. Cremation has taken place There will be a visitation at the L.A. Ball Funeral Chapel, 7 Water St. N., Saint Marys on Tuesday April 11, 2006 from 10: 30 a.m. until the time of the memorial service at 11: 00 a.m. with Rev. Dr. Richard BOTT officiating. Donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy

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DOBSON o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-05-17 published
FOWLER, M.▼ Louisa▼ (née BERDAN)
A resident of London and formerly of Ridgetown, M. Louisa FOWLER passed away at London Health Sciences Centre, University Campus on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at the age of 90. Born in Dunwich Township, daughter of the late Alfred A. and Ellen S. (CYSTER) BERDAN. Beloved wife of the late Robert FOWLER (1994.) Dear mother of Shirley HALL and her husband Kenneth of London, Reta HICKOX of Stoney Creek and Fred FOWLER and his wife Carol▼ Ann▼ of Huntsville. Loved grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of 20. Sister of the late Ellen PERRY, George BERDAN, Allan BERDAN, A.D. BERDAN, Fred BERDAN, Marie DOBSON and infants Willie and Annie. Also survived by several nieces and nephews. Mrs. FOWLER was a lifetime member of Rebekah Lodge and former member of Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church, Ridgetown. Family will receive Friends at the McKinlay Funeral Home, 76 Main Street East, Ridgetown on Thursday from 2: 00-4:30 p.m. and 7:00-9:00 p.m. Funeral Service at the Funeral Home on Friday, May 19, 2006 at 1: 30 p.m. with Rev. Robert PERRY officiating. Interment in Greenwood Cemetery, Ridgetown. In lieu of flowers, donations by cheque to the charity of choice would be appreciated. Online condolences may be left at www.mckinlayfuneralhome.com

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DOBSON o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-05-18 published
FOWLER, M.▲ Louisa▲
A resident of London and formerly of Ridgetown, M. Louisa FOWLER passed away at London Health Sciences Centre, University Campus on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at the age of 90. Born in Dunwich Township, daughter of the late Alfred A. and Ellen S. (CYSTER) BERDAN. Beloved wife of the late Robert FOWLER (1994.) Dear mother of Shirley HALL and her husband Kenneth of London, Reta HICKOX of Stoney Creek, and Fred FOWLER and his wife Carol▲ Ann▲ of Hunstville. Loved grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of 20. Sister of the late Ellen PERRY, George BERDAN, Allan BERDAN, A.D. BERDAN, Fred BERDAN, Marie DOBSON, Archie BERDAN, Cameron BERDAN, Mark BERDAN and infants Willie and Annie. Also survived by several nieces and nephews. Mrs. FOWLER was a lifetime member of Rebekah Lodge (Pride of Kent) and former member of Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church, Ridgetown. Family will receive Friends at McKinlay Funeral Home, 76 Main Street East, Ridgetown on Thursday from 2: 00-4:30 p.m. and 7: 00-9:00 p.m. Funeral service at the Funeral Home on Friday, May 19, 2006 at 1: 30 p.m. with Robert and Thelma PERRY officiating. Interment in Greenwood Cemetery, Ridgetown. In lieu of flowers, donations by cheque to the charity of choice would be appreciated. Online condolences may be left at www.mckinlayfuneralhome.com.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-11-14 published
GLENN, Gerrie M.B.
At South Huron Hospital on Monday, November 13, 2006 Gerrie M.B. GLENN of Crediton in his 62nd year. Beloved husband and best friend of Jayne (CAMPBELL) GLENN. Dear father of Jordan and Tyler at home, Donald of Aylmer, Leann and Richie DOBSON of Crediton, Karrie CONSITT and her friend Dale of Exeter, Arletta and Steve HALLAHAN of Blyth, Angela and Elwin BRINDLEY of Dungannon, Andrew GLENN of Auburn and Amy and David ANDERSON of Elmvale. Dear grandfather of Matthew, Jayda and Grace. Dear brother and brother-in-law of Harold GLENN and Pete and his friend Barb all of Goderich, Donald and Lucille GLENN of Richmond Hill, Joyce and Herb POCOCK of Hythe, Alberta and Lenore GLENN of Lucknow. Predeceased by a brothers Oliver and John and a sister June. Friends may call at the Hopper Hockey Funeral Home, 370 William Street, 1 west of Main, Exeter on Wednesday, November 15th from 10: 30-12:30 p.m. where the funeral service which will be held at 12: 30 p.m. Interment Exeter Cemetery. Donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters South Huron, Victorian Order of Nurses Palliative Care Volunteer Program or the charity of your choice would be appreciated by the family. Condolences may be forwarded through www.hopperhockeyfh.com.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2006-12-21 published
RUTHERFORD, Robert Henry "Bob" (January 23, 1919-December 19, Passed away at Parkwood Hospital surrounded by his loving wife and children. Bob had a strong and loving heart that has survived many medical ups and downs, but his faith always kept him positive and upbeat. Bob spent most of his working life at Beatty Bros. Farm Equipment following in his father's footsteps. His career was interrupted by 4 years overseas in the Canadian Armed Forces. After retirement he developed his creative talents by making furniture and jewellery in his garage workshop until the cold weather moved him to his Florida retreat. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Daphne (CHEELE,) his sister Beryl McINTYRE of Kitchener, his brother-in-law R.D. (Pete) CHEELE of London, his children, Judy (Harry CARDWELL,) Wendy RUTHERFORD- DOBSON, Paul (Dianna), Peter (Beth) and Deborah, his grandchildren Jennifer (John McKINNELL), Greg HUCKLE (Tamara BOOTH), Matthew CARDWELL (Adrienne,) Miranda CARDOSO, Sara AINSLIE, Steven, Adam and Andrew RUTHERFORD and his great-grandchildren Jesse, Justin and Selina CARDOSO, Rhys McKINNELL and Summer CARDWELL. Visitors will be received at John T. Donohue Funeral Home, 362 Waterloo Street, on Thursday from 2-4 and 7-9 o'clock. Funeral Mass at Holy Family Church, (formerly St. Pius X) 777 Valetta Street, on Friday morning December 22, 2006 at 10 o'clock. Cremation with interment in Saint Peter's Cemetery. Prayers Thursday evening at 7: 30 o'clock. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Vincent de Paul or a charity of your choice.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-02-17 published
DOBSON, Elwood▼ James▼
After a lengthy illness, Elwood passed away peacefully in his 72nd year on February 15th. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 42 years, Shirley, three children and grandchildren. He lived in Kleinburg and the cottage he built at Star Lake was one of his passions. Friends are invited to Egan Funeral Home, Bolton, February 17th 2-5 p.m. A graveside service will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Nashville Cemetery, Huntington Road. Remembrances may be shared at www.eganfuneralhome.com.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-03-24 published
TRUELOVE, Alison Jane (DOBSON)
On Sunday March 19, 2006 at Toronto General Hospital. Best friend and wife of Paul TRUELOVE. A.J. will be forever remembered by her twin brother Jeff, brother Ian, sisters Nancy and Tracey and parents Ross and Irene. Deeply missed by her long-time Friends, Ellen WEIR, Cathy PARISH, Julie ANDRAS, and Donna COPE. Alison was a dedicated member of the Rotary Club of Toronto, a Paul Harris Fellow, William Peace Award winner; a longtime supporter of Easter Seals and winner of the Yvonne Alexander Award for Volunteerism. Founder and co-chair of the Truelove/Dell Scholarship Fund, Director Emeritus of Peace by Peace. Member of the Toronto Transit Commission A.C.A.T. committee and many other charitable projects. Alison's tireless efforts have helped countless people. She will be sorely missed. In keeping with Alison's wishes, a Celebration will be held on Monday April 3, 2006 at 7: 00 p.m. at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, 189 Yonge Street, Toronto. If desired, Memorial Gifts may be directed to the Truelove/Dell Scholarship Endowment Fund or The Rotary Club of Toronto Foundation. Cremation and Celebrations entrusted to the J. Scott Early Funeral Home, Milton (905) 878-2669. Online condolences, and donations may be made at www.earlyfuneralhome.com

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-05-09 published
DOBSON, Thomas S. (1917-2006)
Tommy Dobson died at the Colonel Belcher Veterans Care Centre on Sunday May 7, 2006 in his 89th year. Tommy was born in Glasgow, Scotland on August 5, 1917, because his father was called back from Canada as a master machinist to make battleship guns during the First World War. He grew up in Dundas, Ontario and was an enthusiastic Canadian. When in Great Britain during his service on a Corvette in the Second World War, Tommy railed against being called a colonial. Playing mixed doubles badminton with Wilma McKEE in Dundas in the 1930's led to their marriage on July 7, 1943. Wilma worked as a Registered Nurse in Halifax to be near Tommy, who occasionally came into port. Tommy was trained as a gunnery officer in 1942 in one of the first officer training classes (The Ninety Day Wonders) at Royal Roads, served (Mid) in the North Atlantic, Europe, and Mediterranean, and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant in November 1945. In March 1935 he started work at the Royal Bank of Canada in Dundas, thus beginning a lifelong career with the bank. Tommy gained his initial banking experience in Ontario before and after his service in the Royal Canadian Navy and moved west to Calgary in 1949 as assistant manager of the bank's main branch. Subsequently, he held senior banking posts in Winnipeg (1953), Toronto (1958), Calgary (1963), and finally Montreal (1966) where he was on the board of Queen Elizabeth Hospital and ended his banking career as Executive Vice President in 1978. Upon retirement, Tommy chose to return to Calgary to begin a second career as a valued director on many Canadian corporate boards, president and director of several family estate holding companies, and chairman of Easton United Holdings for almost 20 years. He served for six years on the University of Calgary Board of Governors and continued his leadership role in the church and various community organizations. In keeping with a lifelong passion, Tommy was happiest when he was learning. His accomplishments ranged from self-guided senior matriculation courses resulting in graduation with honours, through acquiring the ability to speak French at the age of 49, to typing e-mail at age 81. His efforts were not limited to intellectual pursuits, he mastered downhill and cross-country skiing, curling, golfing, riding, sailing, canoeing, fly fishing, and was the notorious 'wall of fire' to his hunting buddies. Tommy was predeceased by his older and younger brothers and their wives Gordon (Elva) and Edgar (Marion) and his youngest brother Bob. Tommy is lovingly remembered by his brother Bill (Donna); his sister-in-law Mary and his greatly adored wife Wilma. His three children and their spouses and eight grandchildren celebrate his precious teachings of honesty, humility, compassion, strength of purpose, flawless work ethic, unconditional acceptance of our fellow human beings, and the value of humour to get through the tougher days. His engaging sense of humour and ability to tell tall tales without a wink will live on as family treasures and his leadership role as head of the family will be deeply missed. May his values live on in all of us and all of those we touch, with great love and respect from Rick, Leigh, Thomas, and William; Ginny, Dale, Nancy, Stasha, and Kyra; Nancy, Rob, Ellen, Heather, and Patrick. A Celebration of Tommy's Life will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church (1009 - 15th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2R 0S5) on Friday, May 12, 2006, at 1: 00 p.m. with the Rev. Victor Kim Presider. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made to the Thomas S. Dobson Endowed Fund for nursing students at the University of Calgary. Please contact the Development Office, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4 (telephone: 403 220-5854). The family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Focus on Caring and Carewest Colonel Belcher for their support and loving care. In living memory of Tommy DOBSON, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McInnis and Holloway Funeral Homes Park Memorial Chapel, 5008 Elbow Drive S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2S 2L5 Telephone: (403) 243-8200.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-07-15 published
DOBSON, Donald A.
Peacefully at Kensington Gardens on Thursday, July 13, 2006. Beloved husband of the late Rosalind EVANS and Dorothy BEAUCHAMP. Loving father of Joan HICKEY, Sue THORBURN, Gordon McKNIGHT, Nancy ZACK and the late Jay DOBSON. Survived by his grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nieces. The funeral service will be held in September at The Old Stone Church, Beaverton. Cremation has taken place. If desired, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society, 20 Holly Street, Suite #101, Toronto, Ontario M4S 3B1 would be appreciated.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2006-10-27 published
Katherine Riddell ROUILLARD, Educator: (1906-2006)
For 20 years, she ran the International Students' Centre at the University of Toronto and built up a network of global contacts
By Noreen SHANAHAN, Special to The Globe and Mail, Page S9
Toronto -- It was rare to find Kay Riddell ROUILLARD strolling alone on the University of Toronto campus during her 20-year stint as director of the International Students' Centre, a successful institution housed on St. George Street. You'd be more likely to find her escorting students through the complex framework of the Canadian mosaic. "Behind everything that happened at the International Students' Centre, [she] was the catalyst and the chemistry of mixing people from all over the world," said Roy Fischer, her assistant director during the 1960s. "She had an uncanny sense of what was needed to make it work and she believed that bringing people together in a supportive and stimulating environment made good things happen."
The role of the International Students' Centre is to assist international students with their adjustment to university and Canada. Their mandate includes study-abroad programs for Canadian students in order to further develop global experience.
As well as meeting students on campus, Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD also invited them into her Rosedale home. Some came for tea, some came for Christmas dinner, some temporarily lived there with her and her two children. "Back then, it was considered extraordinary to have a young, handsome black male living on your street," said her son, John RIDDELL. "It was noticed."
Susan Riddell STYLIANOS remembers her mother inviting students home and listening to them discuss their lives. "Someone from South Africa sitting in our living room talking would get her involved in anti-apartheid work."
Sometimes, the lure was irresistible. "It is impossible to talk and work with young men and women every day without beginning to share their deep concerns," Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD said in a 1973 speech. "We have become, indeed, part of one another in a world grown suddenly small."
Born in Quebec, Kay Riddell ROUILLARD was the daughter of Harriet PAGE and Perry DOBSON and grew up in Saint Thomas, Ontario, where for 40 years her father was principal of Alma College, a private school for girls. In a memoir, Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD recalled pressures her mother experienced as the principal's wife and how she was inspired to challenge gender-based limitations in her own life. "I remember mother's anxiety over how she would be judged as the principal's wife -- her clothes, her household possessions, even her children.
"She told me one day that her competence in French and German and math and botany and her handcrafts might be useful to her family and Friends but perhaps not so useful in her new role at Alma. Perhaps she should have spent more time learning to dress well, speak well, hostess well."
As a girl, Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD had weathered her father's authority as an educator and attended Alma College, an impressive Gothic Revival building in the centre of Saint Thomas that is now under threat of demolition. From there, she went on to study at the University of Toronto's Victoria College in the early 1920s. While at Victoria, she worked with Group of Seven artist Arthur Lismer at the University Settlement House, where she gave art classes to working-class children.
The experience left a lasting impression. Later, as a young teacher working in the Six Nations native community in Caldeonia, Ontario, she convinced local merchants to display the art of aboriginal children in their storefront windows.
In 1936, she married Robert Gerald RIDDELL, a history professor who became Canada's first ambassador to the United Nations, and began raising a family. In 1950, the family moved to a Long Island town outside of New York, but the pressures of the job proved punishing for her husband, she later said. At the time, the Korean War was raging and he had made an around-the-clock effort to promote a negotiated end to the conflict. In an effort to relieve the stresses of his job, the family had been vacationing at Myrtle Beach, North Carolina They were building sandcastles on the beach when he collapsed of a heart attack.
His death was a turning point in Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD's life. Instead of packing up her children and returning to her parents' home in Saint Thomas, she opted to stay in Toronto and begin a new life as a single working mother. First, she had to find a job and a place to live. On the advice of a friend, she took up with a fledging community organization called Friendly Relations with Overseas Students, earning her wages through fundraising efforts. Eventually, it became the International Students' Centre, where she was ensconced for two decades.
Her career at the International Students' Centre, and the global web of contacts that came with it, came to be highly valued by the university. Shortly after she retired in 1972, the school awarded her an honorary doctorate. A year later, she received the Order of Canada.
In 1987, Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD married for a second time. Dana ROUILLARD, the retired head of the University of Toronto French Department, had known her for decades and they decided to make something more of their Friendship. At the time, they were both in their late 80s. They spent four years together, moving between her home on Duplex Avenue in Toronto and his cottage on Georgian Bay, until her death in 1991. During these years, she returned to a love of painting that had taken shape during her years with Arthur Lismer.
Even so, Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD's activism was far from over. She continued her political work right up until the year of her death. During a stay at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital on University Avenue in March, a large anti-war demonstration occurred outside the nearby U.S. consulate. Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD had herself wheeled to the front door of the hospital, where she cheered the crowd marching up University. She returned to her room with a picket sign attached to her wheelchair.
Ms. Riddell ROUILLARD lived to be one month shy of 100. A planned birthday celebration instead became a memorial service.
Katherine (Kay) Riddell ROUILLARD was born in St. Lambert, Quebec, August 12, 1906. She died of heart disease on July 11, 2006, in Toronto. She is survived by her daughter, Susan Riddell STYLIANOS, and son, John RIDDELL.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-02-14 published
COURTNEY, Meryl (née DOBSON)
Lovingly received into God's Arms on Monday, February 13th, 2006, in her 89th year, at Dufferin Oaks Nursing Home, Shelburne. Beloved wife of the late Stanley (Stan) COURTNEY; cherished mother of Paul (deceased) and his wife Gwen, Karen HUNTER and her husband Paul, David and his wife Christina, and Mark and his wife Jane dear grandmother of 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren predeceased by her sister Muriel. She was our ray of sunshine and a genuine loving friend to so many. Her cheerful spirit and unconditional love have been a blessing and will forever be remembered and remain in our hearts. We love you Mom. Friends may call at the Dods and McNair Funeral Home and Chapel, 21 First Street, Orangeville on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Service will be held in the Chapel on Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 1: 00 p.m. Interment Forest Lawn Cemetery. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Gideons and Abide with Me Ministry. (Condolences may be offered to the family at www.dodsandmcnair.com) Sadly missed. Safe in the arms of Jesus.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-02-16 published
DOBSON, Elwood▲ James▲
After a lengthy illness, Elwood passed away peacefully on February 15, 2006 in his 72nd year at York Central Hospital. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 42 years, Shirley, and his children Jill ENGELMAN (Bryce), Brenda SHEPHERD (Landon), Jim DOBSON (Lisa), and three grandchildren Esmé, Grayson, Skylar. Elwood lived his life with purpose and determination. He valued family, Friendship and hard work. He grew up in the Woodbridge area with his brothers and sisters: Lorraine (deceased), Arthur (deceased), Kathleen McMINN, Roland, Doreen SHACKELTON, and Margaret ADAM/ADAMS. Elwood attended a one-room school near Claireville. He lived for the past 30 years in nearby Kleinburg. The cottage he built at Star Lake was one of his passions, and a central point of enjoyment for the entire family. Elwood and his brother Art owned Southern Courier, at Pearson Airport for 15 years. Friends are invited to visit the family at the Egan Funeral Home, 203 Queen Street S., Bolton Thursday, February 16th from 7-9 p.m. and Friday, February 17th from 2-5 p.m. A graveside service for family and Friends will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Nashville Cemetery. Remembrances may be shared at www.eganfuneralhome.com.

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DOBSON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-04-03 published
DOBSON, Marilyn Mae (née REEVE)
With heavy hearts the Dobson family announce the passing of Marilyn on Saturday April 1st, 2006. Marilyn was the daughter of Ruth and Alfred REEVE. Beloved sister of Carolyn (Bob MURRAY) and Nancy (late Mike CAMPBELL.) Devoted wife of Bob. Marilyn had faced health challenges which were daunting in recent years but she was surrounded with the strength and love of her family to help her through. Marilyn was the proud mother of Jill (Wayne McCLEAVE), Peter (Lynn), Jane (Tony MARCOTULLIO). Cherished grandma to Kira (Ed), Adam (Melissa), Sarah, Nathan, Jenna, and great-grandma to Ethan and Griffin. Marilyn was predeceased by her infant son Christopher. Those who knew Marilyn will remember and celebrate that she lived life to the fullest with family as her first priority enjoying laughter, music, and family time. Marilyn worked for most of her career at Sheridan College as Manager of the Book Store where she enjoyed the young people. The family will receive visitors at Ward Funeral Home "Brampton Chapel" 52 Main St. South (Hwy. 10), Brampton on Tuesday April 4th, 2006 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. The funeral will be held in the Chapel on Wednesday April 5th 2006 at 11 a.m., followed by cremation. In lieu of flowers donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation would be greatly appreciated by the family. Email condolences may be sent to marilyn.dobson@wardfh.com

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