In Memoriam

Remembering ֱ alumni.

Those Who Have Passed

Sharing memories of friends, faculty, and colleagues - In Memoriam helps you honour those who have recently passed.

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  • Harry MacPhee Lewis, obit

    1950s

    Harry MacPhee Lewis

    – BSc’56

    Spring 2024

    Harry MacPhee Lewis passed away in Calgary in what he liked to say was his 90th year. Harry will be sadly missed by his loving wife Eleanor "Her Lordship" (Hamilton); he was predeceased by his younger sisters, Anne McInnes (Angus) and Ruth Lewis; and survived by his brother Robert Lewis (Carol). He was the proud father of Cathy Lewis (Andy Yun), Gordon Lewis (Sherrie), Stephen Lewis, Trish Hanrahan (Artsci'87) (Pat Hanrahan, Artsci'87), and Anne Marie Lewis (Artsci'88, BEd'02) (Aaron Taylor); and the loving Papa Harry to Galen, Kieran, Scott, Caitlin, Willow, and Georgia.

    Harry was born in Tampa, Florida, and raised in Paynes Mills, Ont. Harry graduated from ֱ in Chemical Engineering in 1956. It was in Kingston that he met Eleanor at the Catholic Newman club dance, which was the beginning of their 67-year romance.

    His chemical engineering career took him all over Canada and the U.S. with Union Carbide, Sun Oil, GCOS, and then Suncor. Although he was not one for self-promotion, he felt privileged to have managed the engineering design and build of the first commercially successful Oil Sands plant in Fort McMurray. He took a calculated departure from engineering with a stint as a stockbroker, where he honed his investment skills, leading to a life-long daily love of stock charting and BNN watching.

    His retirement years with Eleanor were some of his happiest and most adventurous, taking them to Europe and Asia. Escaping 20-plus Calgary winters, they enjoyed golfing and time with friends at their home in Nelson, New Zealand. Wine (longtime Opimian Society member) and gardening were his other passions. He lived long enough to be disappointed once again by his beloved Toronto Blue Jays. He treasured his colleagues and friends all over the world. He especially enjoyed weekly golf with Keith and solving the world's problems every Thursday morning with his breakfast club.

    His family would like to thank all the people who cared for Harry and made it possible for him to be with Eleanor until the end, including his loyal friend, Keith; caregivers, Raida and Svetlana; physios, Robert S. and January; Drs Vanda Phillips, Tina Chang, Paul Lathrop, and Scott Samis; and the staff at Riverwalk Retirement Residence, Foothills (Unit 62), Peter Lougheed (Unit 43), and George Boyack Carewest.

  • Elizabeth Ann Shaver (Barrett), obit

    1960s

    Elizabeth Ann Shaver (Barrett)

    – BA’67

    Spring 2024

    Elizabeth Ann Shaver (Barrett) passed away peacefully in hospital on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in her 79th year. She was the beloved wife of Dr. Charles Shaver; loving sister of Susan Ward; dear mother of Andrew Shaver (Paul Sobol) of Toronto, Christine Shaver (Stefano Sonsini) of Ottawa, and Matthew Shaver of Ottawa; and the loving grandmother of Lorenzo and Luca Sonsini. She was predeceased by her nephew, Sean Ward. 

    Elizabeth was a dear special friend of Dr. Jim Wong and family of Meaford, Ont.  She cared deeply about her extended family, her niece Katherine Ward (Razvan Nicolae), cousins, in-laws, and her many friends.

  • Richard (Rick) Sterne, obit

    1960s

    Richard (Rick) Sterne 

    – Sc'68

    Spring 2024

    Richard (Rick) Wilton Edward Sterne passed away on Dec. 5, 2023 at the age of 79. 

    Rick was born on Oct. 9, 1944 in Brantford, Ont. He attended high school at Brantford Collegiate Institute, Chemical Engineering at ֱ, the Ivey School of Business at Western University and, most latterly, the Rotman School of Management at The University of Toronto.

    Rick loved his time at Queen’s and attended his 55th homecoming reunion in the fall of 2023 alongside his daughter, Jennifer (Sc’98, Chemical Engineering). Rick upheld a Sterne family lineage of Chemical Engineers graduating from Queen’s. His grandfather, Edward Tyghe Sterne, graduated in 1913; his father, Francis Eddy Sterne, graduated in 1946; and his daughter, Jennifer, went on to become the 4th generation, graduating in 1998. 

    Rick possessed a spirit of positivity, passion, and generosity that would define his life. He was a leader and entrepreneur from the time he was a young child, organizing neighbourhood events throughout his youth and his school days. One of his early endeavours was founding the Bitter Grounds Coffee House during his undergrad years at Queen’s, for which he received the Tricolour Award in 1968.

    He began his professional career at 3M Canada in London, Ont., then returned to Brantford as the executive vice president at Sternson Limited. He ran for two political campaigns before starting his own business, Datasym Inc., which began as a small team in his basement. Datasym went on to grow and offer employment to many in Brantford and the surrounding area for over two decades. In his later years, he became a director of Brantford Hydro and Brantford Generation, a member at the Social Security Tribunal of Canada and most recently was a CEO chair and executive coach at TEC Canada, where he shared his time and mentorship with other entrepreneurs.

    Rick was a proud ambassador for Brantford and many of its organizations. He was most passionate about his work with Brantford Rotary Club (49 years), having served as both president and district governor. He was a past president of the Brantford Chamber of Commerce, chair of the United Way and of the board of governors of Mohawk College. He served on and chaired many foundations, including: the Juravinski Cancer Centre, the Grand River Trillium Foundation, and 29 years for the Samuel W. Stedman Foundation. He was vice-chair and director of the Lansdowne Children’s Centre, and a Jaycee for many years. Most recently, he was serving on the Laurier University board of governors and senate — a champion of the Brantford campus. Rick’s presence at community events and charitable gatherings was a testament to his commitment to making Brantford a better place for all.  

    Rick knew how to balance the demands of life with moments of joy and relaxation. He loved spending time with family and friends who often found themselves embraced by his hospitality, fun, and positivity. He made Christmas’ magical for his children and grandchildren. He loved new adventures and travel, taking up scuba diving with his son, Eric; snowmobiling excursions with The Great Northern Ride; and organizing many family trips — especially his trips to Mexico with his wife, Jeanette.

    His most favourite place on Earth was at the family cottage in the Bay of Islands, fondly referred to as West Point. There, he sought personal solace and enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. We know his spirit will live on through the special memories and retelling of those stories by his children and grandchildren of the summers spent up there with him. 

  • John Alexander McNeil, obit

    1960s

    John Alexander McNeil

    – Arts’63

    Winter 2023

    John Alexander McNeil passed away on May 19, 2023. 

    John was born to his proud parents, Evelyn and Alex, in Luanshya, Zambia. He was much loved by his two elder sisters, Jean Hafner and Berna Orton; and admired by his younger brother, William. The siblings grew up on the Copperbelt and remained close. From the age of nine, John was put on a five-day train to boarding school at St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown, South Africa, until the family relocated back to Canada when he was 18.

    One of John's proudest achievements was establishing the ֱ rugby program while obtaining his Bachelor of Arts. John served in the UNTD in the summers, mainly at HMCS Cornwallis, and graduated Law School at the University of Toronto in 1966.

    John moved to Vancouver and joined CP Air, which provided him many travel opportunities – and began his lifelong love of Hawaii. He obtained his MBA from UBC and joined Wood Gundy as an investment banker in Toronto, and then London, U.K.

    While in London, in 1984, John married Susan Anker, and they had two children, Alexander (Verity) and Jennifer (Catherine). Both Susan and John were proud parents and devoted to their children (and generations of chocolate Labradors).

    John had a stalwart career with Wood Gundy, Merrill Lynch, Scotiabank and others in Toronto and London. He made the most of living in the U.K.: exploring Europe with his young family, regular nights out at West End musicals, dancing at Annabel's, and of course, lots of tennis.

    John had a varied and glittering career, loved his work, and, latterly, would take every opportunity to regale his family with news from the Ontario energy sector, for which he was a consultant. He was very proud to continue the family tradition of never retiring – he said he would “let the market decide” when it was time, but he was still bringing in business when he had a stroke in June 2022. 

    He always had a pen in his shirt pocket and his daytimer on hand just in case.

    John was a gifted athlete enjoying swimming, rugby, squash, tennis and, latterly, platform tennis. He was famous for holding himself to the highest physical standards, never betraying his true age, and gentle trash talk (mostly directed at himself) on the court. 

    Throughout his life, John maintained strong bonds with a wide circle of university friends, teammates, and colleagues – it was no surprise when he won the Social Butterfly award at the B&R last year.

    John loved to travel, particularly to the beach over Christmas; Club Med in the Turks and Caicos and Kapalua in Hawaii were favourites. When John took his children on an extended trip to Southern Africa in December 2019, he put his Afrikaans to good use – calling himself Johannes and making everyone giggle at his once-natural accent. Amongst friends and family, John was always laughing, often at himself. He had a unique and borderline confusing sense of humour to the uninitiated – he and his children had their own private language and way of speaking that was as endearing as it was hilarious.

    Despite his challenges, John had a perennially positive outlook, and was a gracious gentleman to the very end. John spent his last days at Amica Bayview Gardens, where he surely set records for his number of daily visitors. John's family thank the many people who visited and cared for him, but, in particular, Linda and Jamila, who have shown John incredible warmth and compassion providing PSW services throughout the last year, and the Temmy Latner and Amica staff who provided him with as much comfort as possible during his struggle with aggressive lymphoma.

    John's frugality was legendary – his idea of a treat was a long hot bath, a big glass of chardonnay, and a new pair of corduroy pants every 35 years. 

    John, Bub, Bwana lived a wonderful life, and will be dearly missed. 

  • 1970s

    Malcolm K. Miller

    – PhD'70

    Winter 2023

    Malcolm K. Miller (BSc'62, Ohio State; MA'65, U. of Kentucky) passed away in St. Thomas, Ont. on Oct. 19, 2023.  He will be deeply missed by wife, Catherine (Evans) Arts'71; children, Abigail and Nicholas; and grandchildren, Lauren and Mason. Malcolm was a professor at Fanshawe College, London, Ont. from 1972 until 2004, when he retired to continue his private practice in clinical psychology. 

  • William (Bill) Allison, Obit

    1950s

    William (Bill) Allison

    – BSc'53

    Winter 2023

    William (Bill) Allison, BSc'53, passed away peacefully on Nov. 30, 2023 at the age of 94. 

    Bill graduated from Royal Roads in 1950 and then came to ֱ to study Electrical Engineering. After graduating in 1953, he settled in Peterborough, where he met and married Marian (Jones) and worked at Canadian General Electric for almost 40 years. Bill enjoyed many trips around the world with his work on diesel locomotives and rapid subway systems. 

    Bill enjoyed skiing in the B.C. mountains as a child. He was an ardent curler and won a B.C. championship. In Peterborough, he bowled, curled, and golfed for years at the Kawartha Golf and Country Club. He was an active member of the Peterborough Theatre Guild. 

    After his retirement, Bill and Marian spent many wonderful winters in Florida and were fortunate to be able to visit many countries with friends. His cottage on Big Cedar Lake was a great source of pride for Bill. The many years he spent there with his family were always special. Bill was a devoted papa who enjoyed teaching his children and grandchildren how to waterski.  

    Bill was predeceased by his parents, Andy (BA'18) and Margaret; and his sister, Joan (BA’50). He will be dearly missed by Marian, his wife of 66 years; his children, Louise (Roger), Andy (Com'84, Law'87) (Patti Hall [Artsci/PHE'83, MSc'87]) and Jane (Dave); his grandchildren, (Laura, Jeff, Katie Benoit [MScOT'12], Diane, Lauren Benoit (Artsci'12, Law'17), Josh, Austin, Connor, and Brady (Com'16); and his nine great grandchildren.