OSWALD o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-04-21 published
GILLESPIE,
Marian (née
BOOTH)
On April 19, 2006, in Scarborough, surrounded by her loving family,
Olive Marian
GILLESPIE, daughter of the late John
BOOTH and the
late Olive
WARDLE.
Beloved wife of the late Ross Raymond
GILLESPIE.
Sister of the late Edith Margaret (Peg)
OSWALD, and sister of
Dawne DICKINSON. Cherished mother of Michael (Christine) and
Peter (Jenny). Admired and devoted grandmother of David and Raymond.
Lovingly remembered by nephews and nieces, Gregory, Christopher,
Janice, Julian, and Lesley. Marian's great sense of style, adventure,
and compassion will be missed by all those whose lives she touched.
Special thanks to the staff at Houses of Providence and Scarborough
Retirement Centre. Visitation will take place from 2: 00 p.m.
to 4: 00 p.m. Sunday, April 23rd at McDougall and Brown Funeral
Home, 2900 Kingston Road, Toronto (Scarborough), Ontario. Funeral
Service on Monday, April 24th at 11: 00 a.m. at St. Boniface Parish
Church, Markham Road (just north of Kingston Road). Donations
to Redwings Horse Sanctuary (Hapton, Norwich, NR15 1SP, United
Kingdom) or to the Toronto Humane Society (11 River Street, Toronto,
Ontario M5A 4C2) or to a charity of your choice would be appreciated.
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OSWELL 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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OSWIN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-02-15 published
OSWIN,
Dennis
(Minor Hockey, Ringette and Baseball coach for over 25 years,
and lifetime Toronto Maple Leaf fan)
Peacefully on February 14, 2006 surrounded by his loving family
at St. Joseph's Health Centre in his 69th year. Husband and best
friend of Pat. Loving father of Michael (Kim), Kathy (Brent),
and Rob (Sandy). Devoted grandfather of Chris, Brandon, Michael,
Trevor, Adam, Tyler, Leah, Aaron, and Sarah. Brother of Paddy,
Marg, and Harry. Denny is predeceased by his parents Olma and
Harry, his brothers Bryan, Al, and Freddy and his grand_son Jacob.
He will be forever missed for his jovial sense of humour and
boundless generosity. Friends will be received at the Lynett
Funeral Home, 3299 Dundas St. W. (east of Runnymede Rd.) on Wednesday
7-9 p.m. and Thursday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial
will be held on Friday, February 17 at 10: 00 a.m. from St. Joan
of Arc Church, 1701 Bloor St. W. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery.
If desired, donations may be made to the Diabetes Association.
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