Library staff will be saddened to hear that our former colleague Pat Fysh died on March 27, 2018 at the great age of 93. Pat retired from the General Reference Department of Robarts Library in the early ‘90s after a long career in the library. According to former colleagues Pat’s expertise in German reference sources made her the go-to librarian for German questions during her time in GENR. Pat was also the author of two editions of Geography reference aids in the University of Toronto Library.
In her free time Pat was a great birder and walker. After living for many years in the west end of Toronto near High Park, Pat ended her days in Guelph. We are all sad to hear about the passing of our Reference colleague.
Dear colleagues,
I regret to share the sad news that Deborah Whiteman passed away Easter Sunday morning. Deborah was the Head of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections from 2013 until her retirement last year. Although at UTL for a relatively short time, Deborah left an indelible impact as a warm, kind, and supportive friend and colleague.
We currently have no details of Deborah’s funeral arrangements.
Best regards,
Loryl
Loryl MacDonald
Interim Associate Chief Librarian for Special Collections, Director, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and University Archivist
We have received the news that Elvi Aer passed away on March 15, 2018. Many of you will remember that Elvi was the former Head of the Order Department for a number of years before she retired. She continued to be a good and engaged friend to the library during her retirement and was a frequent guest at library events.
A Celebration of Life will take place on Wednesday, March 28, 2018.
York Cemetery and Funeral Centre
160 Beecroft Rd., North York (north of Sheppard Ave. off Yonge St.)
Phone# (416) 221-3404
Viewing: 9:00 am | Funeral Service: 10:00 am | Interment: 11:00 am, followed by a reception
Flowers may be sent to the address above. For more information please see: http://www.mountpleasantgroup.com/Locations/Funeral%20Centres/York-FC.aspx
Dear colleagues,
With great sadness, I am writing to let you know that following an illness, Yvonne Ramcharan has passed away. This is very difficult news, following so closely on the retirement wishes sent to her by so many of her friends and colleagues. Yvonne wished to be private about her illness, but was able to receive all of your good wishes and thoughts in her final weeks. Her contributions as a colleague, her friendship, and her presence will be dearly missed by us all.
The family will be holding a private funeral service for Yvonne.
Please join me in sending our condolences to Yvonne’s family.
With sorrow,
Sian Meikle
Dudley Bishop, a former staff member, passed away peacefully last week.
BISHOP, Dudley Blair Peacefully, at home, on Wednesday, November 22, 2017, at the age of 74. Loving father of Blair and his wife Joanne MacKinlay. Adored grandpa of Justin and Jessica. Dear brother of Nelson, Ben, Ensley (Tina), Madeline (Dan) and Henry (Regina). Dudley will be lovingly remembered by his many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. A private family service will be held. If desired, remembrances may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society. Online condolences may be made through www.turnerporter.ca
Dear all,
I am very sad to share some difficult news about a cherished colleague today – his family let us know today that Lidio Presutti passed away yesterday.
The loss of a wonderful and respected friend and colleague, who has contributed so much to our community over such a long period of time, is a deep and terrible blow. Larry and I would like to share our sincere condolences with everyone who knew him and worked with him. If it is helpful, our Employee Family and Assistance Program can be contacted at any time:
1.800.663.1142 (English)
1.866.398.9505 (Numéro sans frais – en français)
1.888.384.1152 (TTY)
604.689.1717 International (Call Collect)
Please let Sian, staff in Human Resources or I know if we may help in any way.
With deep sorrow,
Julie Hannaford
Deputy Chief Librarian
Funeral and visitation arrangements
We are saddened to report the passing of former Robarts reference librarian, Rosalind Lee.
"LEE, Rosalind W.Y.
'God gives us memories that we have rose gardens in Winter'. Rosalind W. Y. Lee passed away peacefully at home on August 18, 2017, will be missed by all her family and friends. Private family visitation took place on August 22 at Pine Hills Cemetery. Your prayer would be appreciated."
For those of you who knew Judy Mills, please see below for details regarding a memorial gathering for her this Friday.
Memorial Gathering for Judy Mills
Friday, June 23,2017
1:30-4:00 pm
Brule Room
Old Mill Toronto
Judy Mills, UTL’s Aerospace Librarian for many years, and also formerly of the Chemistry, Engineering and Gerstein libraries, passed away on June 2, 2017.
Heather Cunningham, Assistant Director for Research & Innovation Services Gerstein Science Information Centre remembers Judy fondly:
"When I started at U of T, at the Chemistry Library, Judy Mills was at the Engineering Library. She had been the Chemistry Librarian for a year or so while the Dept. of Chemistry was going through the hiring process. She was the first person who greeted me when I started at U of T, and was a fountain of patience with regard to answering my questions, showing me the behind-the-scenes of how the catalogue and patron database worked, and generally giving an intro to life as a librarian at U of T. Judy was central to me to orienting myself at UTL. She was a wonderful librarian and colleague and has been missed since her retirement in 2003."
Judy's obituary was published in the Toronto Star on June 5, 2017:
"JUDY MILLS (née McCOLL) February 8, 1943 - June 2, 2017 Judy Mills, 74, passed away peacefully on June 2, 2017. Beloved wife of Bill for almost 53 years. Loving mom of Heather (Paul), Lisa (Sheldon) and Andrea (Rahim). Very proud grandma to Megan, Zachary, Sophia, Andrew, Matthew, Anar, Madeline and Thomas. Cherished sister and sister-in-law of Elizabeth (Ron) and Sue (Oz) and four nieces and nephews. Judy was predeceased by her parents Harold and Margaret McColl. Judy was a dear friend to many from her school days in Ottawa, her years working as a librarian and her varied activities including music, duplicate bridge, hiking and neighbourhood walks, canoeing, bird watching and feasting with her much-loved Gourmets. Judy graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree on June 5, 1964 and married Bill the next day. She raised her three daughters and went back to school to earn her Master of Library Science degree in 1981. She enjoyed a rewarding career with the federal government and the University of Toronto, retiring in 2003. In retirement, Judy was particularly passionate about her grandchildren and enjoyed a special relationship with each of them. At this time, she also challenged herself to return to the study of piano (ARCT 1960), with beautiful results. Her skills as a writer, editor and researcher are evident in her retirement-era genealogical work: scholarly articles, compilations of Ontario cemetery transcriptions and a book on her McColl relatives. Judy's respect for family history, love for the Murray Hills and commitment to the environment came together in one of her final (not quite finished) projects: Much of Judy and Bill's farm land is to be donated to the Lone Pine Land Trust to be maintained as the McColl Tract. Judy lived life fully and with grace. She will be terribly missed but lovingly remembered. Thank you to all the friends who cooked and visited during Judy's illness. Thank you to the medical and nursing staff on the oncology floor at Trillium Health Partners (Mississauga Hospital) who cared for Judy in these last weeks. There will be a private family funeral in the coming days and a celebration of her life to be held in Toronto later this month. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to McPhail's Cemetery, c/o David Down, 985 County Rd. 41, Brighton, ON K0K 1H0, or to a charity of your choice."
January 11, 2017
Dear colleagues,
We are shocked and saddened to hear that our colleague Jenny Mendelsohn died on Monday. We will miss her, particularly here on the 4th floor, and we know others will too.
Jenny worked in the Chief Librarian’s area, in Robarts Reference, Earth Sciences and UTSC, and was a champion of professional reference service. Her scholarship and contributions to the library and the profession were many and significant. Jenny set the highest standards for herself and her colleagues and made a tremendous impact on the students and faculty with whom she worked.
Jenny's funeral service took place on January 11, http://www.benjaminsparkmemorialchapel.ca/ServiceDetails.aspx?snum=133204&fg=0.
Debbie
Debbie Green | Head, Reference and Research Services, Robarts Library | 416-978-7626 | www.library.utoronto.ca
December 6, 2016
On behalf of the Faculty of Information, I am saddened to announce Professor Emeritus and our former Dean, Reginald Brian Land, passed away this weekend at age 89 on November 26, 2016, in Georgetown, Ontario.
Prof. Land was a trailblazer at the Faculty, the last person to hold the Director position (1964-71), and our first Dean (1972).
In 1970, Prof. Land launched the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree as the first professional degree in librarianship in Canada. A year later, he introduced the Doctor of Philosophy in Library Science degree at the Faculty. In 1974, our student, Claire England, became the first person to obtain a PhD in library science in Canada. Brian was the driving force behind our name change, in 1972, to the Faculty of Library Science (FLS), as the University upgraded our faculty status.
Backed with four degrees from the University of Toronto, Prof. Land had many pursuits and played key roles in libraries and government, having held executive positions in professional associations, and as a part-time CRTC Commissioner. In 1978, he was appointed Executive Director of the Ontario Legislative Library, from which he retired in 1993. A year later, he was honoured by the Faculty, and recognized by his peers, for this dedication to the field of library studies with the FIAA Alumni Jubilee Award.
Brian’s warmth, intellect, kindness, and good humour endeared him to everyone, and his legacy stands tall. He will be truly missed, as will his annual update letter he sent to us each December.
You can learn more about Brian’s life and accomplishments by reading his obituary.
Visitation will be at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home, Hart Chapel, 1099 Gordon St., Guelph, on Thursday, December 1 from 6-8 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held St. Alban the Martyr Anglican Church, 537 Main Street, Glen Williams, on Friday, December 2 at 2 p.m.
Brian asked that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Faculty of Information Annual Fund, or to a charity of your choice, through the funeral home at www.gilbertmacintyreandson.com.
Because of Brian’s support of students and love of travel – Brisbane, China, Canada’s high arctic, Prairies – we will direct donations in his memory toward the Faculty’s top profile and highest area of need: the student co-op placement at UNESCO. To get the ball rolling, both Seamus and I are donating $1,000 each, in Brian’s honour.
Wendy Duff
Dean and Professor
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October 11, 2016
Dear Library Colleagues,
It is with great sadness that I write to let you know that Russell Morrison, long-time benefactor of the University of Toronto and the libraries passed away. As many of you know, Dr. Morrison and his wife Katherine, made possible the building of the Morrison Pavilion in the Gerstein complex as well as the ongoing revitalization of Robarts Library. Dr. Morrison was passionate about the student experience. He wanted to transform the lives of U of T students by creating stunning spaces for students to work and to learn. He told me in our first meeting five years ago and reminded me later that “it is about the students.” He believed that providing inspiring and comfortable space for students to learn would make a difference to them for the rest of their lives. As a result of his and Katherine’s vision and their passion for students, we have some of the best library space for students in all of Canada, and it is used by thousands of students every day, just as Russell hoped. Dr. Morrison will be deeply missed. Please join me in extending our condolences to his wife, Katherine, and their family.
Sincerely yours,
Larry
Larry P. Alford
Chief Librarian
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August 23, 2016
May 30, 2016
Jim Ingram passed away last month. Jim worked in the Science and Medicine Library in the late 70’s and early 80’s before being hired as the photographer in the Department of Preservation Services in 1984. Jim produced photographs of library materials for faculty, students and other Library users and was the official photographer at many Library events.
A few years later Jim became the supervisor of the Reprographics Section of Preservation Services, producing microfilm and microfiche of brittle books. As a result of his experience, Jim wrote Guidelines for Preservation Microfilming in Canadian Libraries, which was published in 1993 by the National Library of Canada. In the mid 1990s the Reprographics Section began a digitization program and Jim was instrumental in producing many of the Library’s digital special collections.
Jim always took great pride in his work, was meticulous about quality, very creative and often was working under great pressure to meet grant funded deadlines. Even in the most pressured situation, however, Jim’s zany sense of humour kept his co-workers laughing and helped us keep a sense of perspective. He was a lively conversationalist because of his many interests and curiosity about different subjects, and often lightened our day with his wit and good humour.
Jim was an excellent photographer and continued with this in retirement, giving shows of his work. He traveled in retirement and continued to pursue his many interests, including baseball.
Sincere condolences to Jim’s wife Paula, daughter Emma, brother-in-law Alexander Eykelhof, who also worked in the Library, and the rest of Jim’s family.
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Jack Nissenson, longtime employee of UTL, passed away on June 24 at the age of 82. He will be missed by his brother Harvey and many close friends, and remembered fondly by his colleagues and friends here at U of T.
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Jennifer Ramlochan passed away suddenly this week at home. She will be fondly remembered by all of her colleagues and friends at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library and throughout the libraries at U of T.
Jennifer worked for UTL for many, many years and most recently at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library before her early retirement approximately 13 years ago. A viewing and service were held for Jennifer this week.
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Pat Kay passed away this past weekend. Pat will be remembered by many staff and faculty from her years of work at the UTM Library. A memorial was held for Pat this week.
Suddenly on February 14th, 2015 at the age of 74. Lovingly remembered by her husband Colin, children Colette, Paul, Gillian and Susan, son and daughter-in law Sean and Melissa, grandchildren Alexis, Sydney, Maxwell, Carson and Alessia, sister Joan and brother-in-law Jack. Much loved and missed by all who knew her.
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Shirley Wigmore, retired from the OISE Library, passed away on November 14, 2014.
Shirley was at the Ontario College of Education (an antecedent of FEUT and OISE), from 1953, where she was the Assistant Librarian and then Research Librarian in Education. Shirley was hired at OISE as a Lecturer in Education in 1965. She started this role while continuing her Research Librarian role, with the now renamed College of Education. Shirley became the Chief Librarian at OISE in 1966 and retired from that role in 1993.
A celebration of her life will take place on Saturday, November 29 at 11:00 am, with a memorial service followed by a reception, at the Eglinton St. George’s United Church (35 Lytton Blvd.). In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Christie Garden Foundation or the Royal Conservatory of Music would be appreciated.
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Faye Abrams, former OCUL Projects Officer, died in Toronto on April 10, 2014. Faye was a very special OCUL person and she will be missed by her many friends and colleagues in the OCUL community. Her vision and leadership encouraged librarians in Ontario universities to collaborate, to think OCUL-Y not locally, as Faye would say, to develop shared strategies to build digital library collections. She was a mentor to many librarians - her knowledge and expertise have been instrumental for OCUL in negotiating license agreements with vendors, and in representing OCUL’s interests in many different venues.
Faye began her professional career at McIntyre Medical Library, McGill University in 1973 and then moved to the Bank of Montreal Library in Montreal. This business and management experience led to her first position at the University of Waterloo as Head of the EMS Reference and Collections Department. Faye’s influence and leadership were evident in all of the positions she then held at Waterloo (Coordinator of the IBIS service, UWInfo Coordinator, Liaison Librarian to the School of Accountancy, and Head of ILL/Document Delivery).
Moving to the Projects Officer role at the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) in 1999, Faye began the work of building and sustaining a collaborative vision of how all 21 academic libraries in Ontario could work together in acquiring digital scholarly resources. Faye became the preeminent collections librarian in Ontario – even if she would say that collections work was not her strength. She coordinated the work of collections librarians from around the province to facilitate common negotiating strategies and consortial purchasing resulting in stronger digital collections for all faculty and students in Ontario. Her negotiation skills are legendary.
Faye was well-regarded by colleagues across Canada, especially within the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) where she played a key role in negotiating national agreements for digital resources. International colleagues enjoyed her humour, expertise, and open mind at many meetings of the International Coalition of Library Consortia. She was straightforward, approachable, patient, always assumed that trustworthy relations could be established, and had boundless energy.
Faye retired from OCUL in 2011 and enjoyed time travelling with her husband, Lawrence, spending more time with her daughter, Rebecca, and socializing with family and her many friends far and wide. She was tenacious in her determination to live well despite her cancer and to enjoy life as much as possible for as long as she could.
In recent years, Faye was honoured by her colleagues with several awards: the 2007 Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) Academic Librarianship Award, the 2011 Ontario College and University Library Association (OCULA) Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2013 Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) Award of Merit. The nominators for these awards noted that Faye commanded great respect in the wider community of vendors, libraries and library consortia.
Her colleagues at CARL honoured her with this tribute: Faye is unforgettable. She dared to be different – and to take risks. She had sound social intelligence and determination, perspective, patience, and persistence. And, yet, in response to this honour, Faye sent these words to CARL: “It is very humbling to be singled out for special attention. During my 12 years at OCUL I was challenged to develop new schemes for consortial licensing. It was a most rewarding and exciting part of my career. My peers define this as an Award of Merit, while for me it was a labour of love.”
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Nancy Young had a distinguished and varied career as a U of T Librarian. She served as a librarian at the Faculty of Education Library before it merged with OISE, and then at Sci/Med (later Gerstein) and later still in Collection Development as Health & Life Sciences Collection Development Librarian. She also spent time during her years at Sci/Med providing reference service at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Library to faculty, staff and students. As a volunteer in retirement, Nancy was a member of RALUT and the UofT Womens' Association which, among other endeavours, raises funds at each UofT graduation through the sale of roses for graduands. Nancy was a fine and dedicated librarian respected greatly by those with whom she worked and by the many students and faculty she served.
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Dear colleagues,
It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Don Sklepowich.
Don was a valued member of the Media Commons team for over twelve years and a seasoned media specialist with over thirty five years of experience in the field. He was well regarded for his extensive technical skills within the Libraries, the University and the broader film and music communities.
Don’s filmography and discography date back to 1991, with sound recording, mixing and editing credits on ten films and albums. He began his career as an audio technologist for live touring acts across North America and, in 1981, started his own company, Audio Trax Digital Performance Concepts, which he ran for more than 33 years.
His extensive technical skills included format transfer between analog and digital sources using his expert knowledge of over 20 different analog reel to reel machines, digital audio restoration, digitization, archiving of analog reel-to-reel, cassette and vinyl formats, forensic audio, analog, and digital audio mastering and assembly. Emerging technologists in the field benefited from his expertise through the digital audio courses he taught at the Toronto Recording Workshop.
Don’s passing is a great loss for the Libraries and our community. He will be greatly missed by his colleagues in the Media Commons and by all of his many friends and colleagues across the libraries who had the privilege of working with him over the years. I want to extend my deepest personal sympathy to his family and to each of you who knew Don and worked with him on a daily basis.
With deep sadness,
Larry
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Frances Eastman (September 15, 1921 - June 20, 2013). Frances passed away on June 20th of a heart attack at the age of 91. Frances had worked at the University of Toronto Libraries in the Department of Economics Library, and then at the Sigmund Samuel Library before retiring in the late 1980s. At both libraries the students she helped loved her for her unstinting attention, easy way, and total acceptance of them. Fran had a broad range of interests and many friends who sustained her when her husband Bob died suddenly of a heart attack. She was especially fond of old movies (a past Board member of the Toronto Film Society) and opera, which she enjoyed at the COC, Opera in Concert and the Met HD Live. In her retirement she took many courses and trips through George Brown College and she had already signed up for an opera course this term. Fran was a gregarious, loving 'people person' who drew friends to her and she will very much be missed.
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Brian Merrilees, Emeritus professor of French, and holder of many successive administrative positions at the University of Toronto, aged 74. On the evening of Friday, September 6th, Brian died peacefully in his sleep, after a series of medical setbacks. Brian reluctantly left behind the libraries and dark-stroked scripts of his passion, medieval texts, the classrooms of his calling, the athletic fields and golf courses of his sporting life, and the beaches, hills and tussocks of his native New Zealand. But most of all he left behind his beloved family: Pat, his partner of forty-nine years; daughters Elizabeth and Katherine and their wonderful husbands Rob Emlay and Howard Tattum; and the grandsons on whom he doted, Logan, Lucas, Owain and Morgan. He will also be greatly missed by his siblings Graeme, Mervyn and Barbara, and their families, and the Williams families. His good cheer will be missed by his colleagues at the University of Toronto and in Québec, the UK, France, New Zealand and the USA, former students, many neighbours, golfing and running partners and near and newly-discovered distant relatives, all of whom he made into friends with his talents of inclusiveness, generosity and great love of people.
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Maureen Hutchinson, former Acting Chief Librarian and prior to that, Head, Readers Services at UTL passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 11th at the age of 93 at West Park LongTerm Care Centre. Born in Dublin, Ireland on February 5, 1920, she immigrated to Toronto in 1955 and was employed by the University of Toronto Libraries for 30 years. Maureen was predeceased by her husband Aidan (2001) and son Kenneth (1953). She is survived by her son Paul and wife Claudia and grandchildren Christopher and Victoria (Moore). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Long Term Care Centre Recreation, 416-243-3600 extension 4243.
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