John Walcot, BCom, died on July 22, just 10 days after his 94th birthday. He played varsity sports while earning his Commerce degree, but the proudest moment of his sporting life was when he scored the winning touchdown for his North Toronto Collegiate football team in front of more than 20,000 fans in the city championships at Varsity Stadium. After Queen’s, John spent 40 years with New Holland Farm Equipment and enjoyed supporting his kids and grandchildren at thousands of games, recitals and events. He is survived by his wife of more than 69 years, Nancy; children Ann, Peter, Robert and Bradley; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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Mary Wallace (Sweeney), BCom’50, died on June 20 at her Dunrobin, Ont., cottage after a short battle with cancer. She was 95 years old. Mary was a high school teacher for 37 years. She also had a keen interest in genealogy and was a founding member of the Ontario Genealogical Society’s Palatine Special Interest Group. This year she was honoured with the group’s Eula C Lapp Award, which recognizes Irish Palatine descendants’ significant contributions to Irish Palatine genealogy. Predeceased by her husband, Charles Wallace, Artsci’50, and one son, Mary is survived by two children, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Published in: Fall 2023
Herbert Wyman, BCom’50, died on Dec. 23, 2022 following a lengthy battle with dementia. He was 93. After graduating, Bert went on to study law at Dalhousie University. He was in the COTC Royal Canadian Artillery throughout his university years and served with the South Alberta Light Horse reserve regiment after completing his studies, achieving the rank of major. He enjoyed a more than 50-year career as a corporate lawyer with what has grown to become Bennett Jones LLP. Bert is survived by his three children, six grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Published in: Spring 2023
1949
William C. Tate (BCom) passed away in Hawkesbury, ON, on April 10 after a mercifully quick battle with cancer. As a talented young hockey player, Bill had been recruited by the Detroit Red Wings, but then WWII service in the RCAF intervened. He remained interested in aviation the rest of his life. He attended Queen’s as one of many war vets. Soon after graduation, he joined Garrett Manufacturing Ltd., a division of the Garrett aerospace company that he helped grow into a major manufacturer of top-quality equipment for the aviation and aerospace industries. His family points out that if you’ve flown on a major commercial airline, it was Bill’s systems that helped control the air you breathed for a comfortable flight. Even after retirement he co-founded Tulmar, a leading vendor of aviation life-support supplies, based in Hawkesbury. Bill was predeceased by his first wife Daphne and his brother, Dr. Robert G. Tate, MD’52. He is survived by his wife Sylvia, five children and nine grandchildren.
Published in: Winter 2009
Emerson Creed, BCom, died July 10, in his 94th year, in Cambridge, Ont. A former RCAF pilot, he enjoyed a 37-year career at The London Free Press, retiring as its Financial Editor in 1986. He was a champion golfer, once beating the legendary Moe Norman in match play at the Ontario Amateur Golf Championship. He was predeceased by his wife Elisabeth and son David and is survived by his daughters Marilyn, Susan and Madeleine, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Published in: Winter 2016
Wilfred Arthur Darby, BCom, died on April 6, in his 96th year, at The Carpenter Hospice in Burlington, Ont. Wilfred served in the RCAF in the Middle East from 1942-1945. Following his 1986 retirement from Stelco as Assistant Comptroller, he became an accomplished landscape artist. He is survived by Jeanie, his wife of 67 years; his son Kim (Catherine); and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter Jane Darby-Hipple (Don).
Published in: Summer 2017
Archibald Johnston (BCom) went to work for Canadian General Electric Company Limited after graduating from Queen’s and remained there for over 35 years, retiring as V-P Public Affairs and Government Relations. During his WWII service, he married a Canadian Nursing Sister, who was a great support to him. Unfortunately, she passed away in 1980 after a lengthy illness. They had four children who produced their own offspring, 12 in number at present. Archibald and his present wife, Dr. Elizabeth Parr-Johnston, CM, have just returned to their home in Chester Basin, NS, from celebrating the wedding of his grandson in Surrey, BC.
Published in: Summer 2008
Peter Kelley, BCom, died on April 25, 2020. Predeceased by his former wife, Doreen, Peter is survived by his significant other, Elinor Hughes; children Jocelyn and James Kelley, MBA’86, Artsci’80, Sc’81; and five grandchildren. Peter’s son Dean, Artsci’84, died shortly after his father’s passing, on June 21.
Published in: Spring 2021
Edgar Benson (BCom) LLD’08, passed away on Sept. 2 in Ottawa, at the age of 88. After completing his degree, he became a widely respected and distinguished accountant who practised his profession in Kingston and taught at QSB. He was elected to Parliament in 1962 and represented the riding of Kingston and the Islands for 10 years. During that time, he held many roles in the governments of Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, including Minister of Finance and Minister of Defence. After retiring from politics in 1972, he was the President of the Canadian Transport Commission for 10 years. Between 1982 and 1985, he served as Canada’s Ambassador to Ireland.
Published in: Winter 2012
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Waldo Walker (BCom) died June 17, 2013, in Kingston, in his 94th year. A proud veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, he served in Europe, Korea and the Middle East, attaining the rank of Major. He is survived by Beverly, his wife of 30 years, and grandson William (Calgary), and was predeceased by his first wife Esther (Bramburger) and son Grant.
Published in: Winter 2014