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WILTON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-12-10 published
Priest from Japan ministered to displaced Japanese Canadians
He arrived in Canada for a three-year posting and stayed 26 years. 'He was kind of a reverse missionary. He would write his Sunday sermons in between periods of Hockey Night in Canada'
By Ron CSILLAG, Special to The Globe and Mail, Page S10
Toronto -- Upon their arrival in Canada in 1953, Paul Ken IMAI, his wife and two children constituted five per cent of all immigrants from Japan that year. In the decade after the Second World War, just 409 Japanese émigrés were permitted to come to this country.
Racial hysteria kept all but a trickle of Japanese out of Canada until 1967, when the government introduced the point system, which judges potential newcomers primarily on their labour market skills and adaptability to Canada, rather than racial or ethnic backgrounds.
A particularly dark chapter in Canadian history began in late 1941. Just weeks after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and its invasion the following day of Hong Kong, which led to the death or capture of 2,000 Canadian troops, Canada invoked the War Measures Act and declared Japanese Canadians to be enemy aliens.
In British Columbia, where most of them lived, it meant that 22,000 persons of Japanese origin, including Canadian citizens, were uprooted. The evacuees were relocated to B.C.'s Interior, scattered about or placed in internment or work camps. They lost everything. Their homes, fishing boats, businesses and personal items were taken or destroyed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Their land was set aside for returning veterans.
Four months after the war ended, Ottawa made Japanese Canadians an offer: Be dispersed or return to Japan. About 4,000 people went back to Japan (voluntarily, the government insisted). About 9,000 settled in Ontario.
That's where Rev. IMAI, an American-trained Anglican priest, found a community still recovering, trying to make a life in the country that had treated them so miserably. Not many of them were Christian, fewer still were Anglican, but those who were encountered a gentle, compassionate man who would be a calming influence in their lives.
"They were uprooted. They wanted to go home but were not allowed," remembered Grace, his soft-spoken wife of 60 years. It was a community still in shock. Her husband "visited people and listened to them. That was a very good thing for them, to talk about it," she went on. "But maybe he couldn't do as much as he wanted."
Though small in number, Mr. IMAI helped solidify Japanese Anglicans in Toronto, Hamilton, London, St. Catharines and Montreal. As a parish priest, he conducted hundreds of baptisms and weddings, and held Bible classes in Japanese. It was supposed to be a three-year posting; it lasted for 26 years.
A much-loved pastor, priest and teacher who combined Japanese serenity with Christian saintliness, Mr. IMAI represented a distinct minority. In Japan, where European missionaries were not as successful as elsewhere in the Orient, fewer than one per cent of the population is Christian. Japanese tend to borrow freely and without conflict from Buddhism and Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, sometimes with Christian holidays and traditions thrown in. Mr. IMAI studied and was conversant in Shin (Japanese) Buddhism, Zen and Shinto, but never considered those as alternatives to his beloved church.
He was born of samurai ancestry in Manchuria, then under Japanese control. His father was a wealthy railroad magnate and devout Anglican who wrapped his new son in white and offered him to God's service. He named him Ken, which means "offering" in Japanese.
Mr. IMAI attended Saint Paul's University in Tokyo and studied at the General Theological Seminary in New York from 1938 to 1940. He was ordained to the priesthood at Christ Church Cathedral in the city of Sendai.
His family concedes the only gaps in his biography occur during the war years. He never spoke about them. He felt that as a Christian, he could not support war, and delivered an anti-war sermon from the pulpit in the city of Akita around 1941, only to notice a man in the back row of the sanctuary leave right after it was over. It turned out that the stranger was a member of Japan's secret police, and Mr. IMAI was drafted into the Japanese army right away.
He served in the dangerous position of scout, and saw front-line action in the Philippines and New Guinea, where he was captured by U.S. troops. Japanese soldiers had standing orders to kill themselves with a poison pill upon capture, but Mr. IMAI and a group of others didn't have their suicide pills, so they asked to be shot in the chest. The Americans declined.
Imprisoned in New Guinea, Mr. IMAI was soon shipped to a prisoner of war camp in near the town of Cowra in Australia. Located about 300 kilometres west of Sydney, N.S.W., the facility was home to some 4,000 Axis inmates. A guard from New York befriended the young priest and even presented him with a cake on his birthday. Hunger was the PoW's constant companion, and they wondered what the crocodiles in nearby streams tasted like.
The Cowra camp became famous when on August 5, 1944, more than 500 Japanese PoWs escaped, or died in the attempt. At the sound a bugle, hundreds of PoWs charged the wire yelling "Banzai."
The authorities had earlier been tipped off about a planned breakout and purposely rearmed the guards by replacing their rifles with machine guns. The gunners mowed down scores of prisoners before being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and two were killed. In all, about 350 PoWs got away but by all accounts few of them expected to get very far. Some killed themselves, had it done for them by a comrade or were shot avoiding recapture. Within 10 days, all 230 survivors had been rounded up. For his part, Mr. IMAI did not make it back to Japan until 1946.
He took a job as chaplain at a girls' school in Tokyo. Six years later, he was called by the Missionary Society of the Church of England to minister to Japanese-Anglicans in the Toronto area, then the second-largest such community outside Japan (the first was in Los Angeles). At the same time, he was awarded a scholarship to take a master's degree in theology at the University of Toronto's Trinity College.
"He was kind of a reverse missionary," his son, Shin, said. "He loved this country. He would write his Sunday sermons in between periods of Hockey Night in Canada." It was a peripatetic congregation in those days, more recently settling at St. Andrew Japanese Congregation, located in St. David's Anglican Church on Donlands Avenue.
"There was a lot of emphasis on education," recalled Shin IMAI. "They really pounded that into us. My parents always said, and this is fairly common among immigrants, that you have to be - no insult to anybody - better than white people in order to be treated the same as white people."
Mr. IMAI maintained a resolute silence about his war experiences. But there were times at night, his son says, when his father awoke screaming.
He was appointed an honorary canon of Saint_James Cathedral in Toronto. Two years later, he and others translated Anglicanism's central text, the Book of Common Prayer, into Japanese. In her will, Shizuko MORITSUGU, the woman who handwrote the edition's kanji script, specified that a copy be placed in her coffin.
Mr. IMAI retired as parish priest in 1978. For the next five years, he served as a chaplain at a Japanese school in England, then as dean of King Alfred's College in Winchester, Wessex.
Back in Toronto, he taught Japanese Bible classes for 11 years, before Parkinson's disease sidelined him in 1997. As far as his family knows, he voiced no opinion on the same-sex controversy now tearing apart the global Anglican communion.
Rev. John WILTON, the IMAIs' own priest, said he encountered "holy ground" whenever he visited Mr. IMAI. Mr. WILTON summons a scene that is sad yet dignified. Deaf, wracked by Parkinson's, and with most of his English gone, Mr. IMAI could do little else in his final days but make the sign of the cross.
Paul Ken IMAI was born in Manchuria on November 10, 1911, and died in Toronto on November 27, 2007. He was 96. He leaves his wife Grace YACHIRO, children Shin, Margaret and Rei, and seven grandchildren.

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WILTON o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-12-28 published
HILL, William John " Bill"
R.C.N.V.R. of the Second World War. Bill was Manager with Imperial Life Assurance, former Church Warden and Lay Reader with St. Cuthbert's Anglican Church, Toronto, past member of the Rotary Club in Leaside, member of the Guelph-Wellington Men's Club and a faithful churchman at St. George's Anglican Church, Guelph.
Bill passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at the Guelph General Hospital on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 in his 85th year. Dearest husband of 60 years to Joan (née CARTER) of Guelph. Dearest father of Andrew and wife Joan of Barrie, Barbara and husband David CLARK of Lakefield and Carolyn and husband Robert LOEWEN of Toronto. Dear grandpa to Jason and Jessica HILL, Melanie and husband Dean SWERDFEGER, Sarah and husband Antony CLARK, Jennifer CLARK and husband Ruben KUBEITZ, Michael LOEWEN, Elizabeth LOEWEN and husband Mark ANDREWS and the late Pamela HILL. Great-grandpa of David, Daniel and Alexander. Brother to Ruth WILTON and husband the Rev. Ralph WILTON. Predeceased by his parents William and Martha HILL of North Bay. Family and Friends will be received at St. George's Anglican Church, 99 Woolwich Street, Guelph, for one hour prior to the funeral service which will be held at 3: 00 p.m. on Sunday, December 30, 2007, conducted by the Archdeacon Thomas M. GREENE. Memorial contributions to the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, 80 Hayden Street Toronto M4Y 3G2 or St. George's Anglican Church, 99 Woolwich Street, Guelph N1H 3V1 or a charity of one's choice would be appreciated.

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WILTSHIRE o@ca.on.grey_county.artemesia.flesherton.the_flesherton_advance 2007-07-11 published
KEATING, Mary▼ (née WILTSHIRE)
Entered into rest in Grey Bruce Regional Health Centre, Owen Sound on Tuesday, July 3, 2007. Mary KEATING, in her 91st year. Mary (WILTSHIRE) KEATING, beloved wife of the late Mel KEATING. Dear mother of Gwen GREENSIDES of Owen Sound and Arlene (Arthur) LOVE of Kincardine. Will be sadly missed by five grandchildren, Tammi (Todd) DAVIS of Owen Sound, Heather (Brian) GRACE of R.R.#1 Dundalk, Paul (Terri) GREENSIDES of Flesherton, Dan (Michelle) LOVE and Rob (Janice) LOVE both of Kincardine and nine great-grandchildren Stephanie, Natalie, Bradley, McKenzie, Jaime, Mark, Dawn, Liam and Caleb. Survived by two sisters-in-law Joyce KEATING of Orangeville and Anne KEATING of Thornbury. Predeceased by her parents Samuel and Catherine WILTSHIRE, two brothers Earl and George Wiltshire, a sister-in-law Erma WILTSHIRE and a son-in-law Don GREENSIDES. Rested at the McMillan and Jack Funeral Home, Dundalk. Services were held in the chapel on Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 12 noon. Interment in Dundalk Cemetery. Donations to the Dundalk United Church or the charity of your choice would be appreciated. Visitation was on Thursday, July 5 from 10: 30 a.m. to 12 noon.
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WILTSHIRE o@ca.on.grey_county.artemesia.flesherton.the_flesherton_advance 2007-08-29 published
KEATING, Mary▲ Celena (née WILTSHIRE)
Mary Celena (WILTSHIRE) Keating passed away at Grey Bruce Health Services on Tuesday, July 3, 2007 in her 91st year.
Mary was born on December 22, 1916 to Sam and Katie (ARMSTRONG) WILTSHIRE. She got her education at S.S.#8 Proton School. On October 18, 1939 she married Mel KEATING and they settled down farming on the 16th Concession, Proton. In 1942 a daughter Gwen arrived and in 1945 another daughter, Arlene, completed the family. Later in life Mel and Mary retired to Dundalk. Mel passed away on April 4, 1992.
Mary was involved with the United Church Women of Bethel and later became a lifetime member. She was also involved with the Dundalk Senior's Club, she also helped organize senior trips. She became a lifetime member of this club too. She loved to quilt and knit and was an avid card player. She loved to be involved with her family and kept up to date with her great-grandchildren's achievements.
Mary▲ was the loving wife of the late Mel KEATING. Cherished mother of Gwen and Arlene (Art) LOVE. Devoted grandmother of Tammi (Todd) DAVIS, Heather (Brian) GRACE and Paul (Terri) GREENSIDES and a very proud great-grandmother of Stephanie, Natalie, Bradley, McKenzie, Jaime, Mark, Dawn, Liam and Caleb. She is survived by two sisters-in-law, Joyce KEATING and Anne KEATING. She was predeceased by her parents Sam and Katie (ARMSTRONG) WILTSHIRE, two brothers Earl (Erma) and George WILTSHIRE and son-in-law Donald GREENSIDES and several sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.
The family received Friends and family on July 5 from 10: 30 a.m. to 12 followed by the funeral.
Rev. Janet ERIKSEN very fittingly gave a Celebration of Life service and Tammi DAVIS' gave a beautiful eulogy for her grandmother. Mary NICHOLLS played some beautiful music during the funeral. The pallbearers were Todd DAVIS, Brian GRACE, Paul GREENSIDES, Bradley ACHESON, Dan and Rob LOVE. The flower-bearers were Heather GRACE, Stephanie and Natalie ACHESON and Janice LOVE.
Interment took place at Dundalk Cemetery.
"Dear Mom, you are not forgotten, though on earth you are no more. Still in memory you are with us, as you always were before."
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WILTSHIRE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-12-21 published
LE DAIN, Gerald▼ Eric,▼ C.C., Q.C., B.C.L., D. de l'Univ., D.C.L., LL.D.
Passed away peacefully on December 18, 2007 at the age of 83. Beloved▼ husband of Cynthia LE DAIN (deceased,) and dearest father to Jacqueline (deceased), Catherine (deceased), Barbara (David MUIR), Caroline (Clifford BURGESS), Eric (Christie WILTSHIRE), and Jennifer (Philip SYMMONDS.) Cherished grandfather to Andrew, Katie, Alison, Ian, Matthew, Colin, Michael, Mark, Adam, David and Molly. We will miss you dearly, and will hear the echoes of your laughter at the family cottage, the source of so many happy memories.
Gerald LE DAIN was born in Montreal in 1924, son of Eric LE DAIN and Antoinette WHITHARD. He attended McGill University briefly prior to volunteering, at the age of 18, to serve with the Canadian Army in World War 2 from 1943 to 1946, as a Gunner with the 7th Medium Regt., R.C.A., seeing action in Holland and Germany in 1945. In 1946, he attended Khaki University in England where in a fateful debate he met his wife of 48 years, Cynthia Emily Roy.
After returning to Canada in 1946, he obtained a B.C.L. degree from McGill University, winning the Gold Medal. He pursued his studies in France, obtaining a Docteur de l'Université from the Université de Lyon. He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1949 becoming a Q.C. in 1961. During the 1950's and 1960's, Gerald practised law in Montreal, with Walker Martineau, and as a partner in the firm of Riel, Le Dain, Bissonnette, Vermette and Ryan where he was counsel to the Attorney General of Quebec in constitutional cases, and in the legal department of the Canadian International Paper Co. For eight years during this period he was a professor of law at McGill University.
In 1967, he became dean of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. From 1969 to 1973, he chaired the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. Two years later, he was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal. He was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1984. He served on the Supreme Court for four years and retired in 1988. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1989.
Gerald LE DAIN lived life with exuberance and passion, with integrity and a strong sense of responsibility, and with a profound commitment to Canada. The warmth of his personality, the power of his intellect, and his ability to bring clarity to complex issues enriched us all.
Friends are invited to visit at the Central Chapel of Hulse, Playfair and McGarry, 315 McLeod Street on Thursday, December 27, 2007 from 2: 00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.. The funeral will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, 439 Queen Street, Ottawa, on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 2: 00 p.m.

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WILTSHIRE o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-12-27 published
LE DAIN, Gerald▲ Eric,▲ C.C., Q.C., B.C.L., D. de l'Univ., D.C.L., LL.D.
Passed away peacefully on December 18, 2007 at the age of 83. Beloved▲ husband of Cynthia LE DAIN (deceased,) and dearest father to Jacqueline (deceased), Catherine (deceased), Barbara (David MUIR), Caroline (Clifford BURGESS), Eric (Christie WILTSHIRE), and Jennifer (Philip SYMMONDS.) Cherished grandfather to Andrew, Katie, Alison, Ian, Matthew, Colin, Michael, Mark, Adam, David and Molly. We will miss you dearly, and will hear the echoes of your laughter at the family cottage, the source of so many happy memories. Gerald LE DAIN was born in Montreal in 1924, son of Eric LE DAIN and Antoinette WHITHARD. He attended McGill University briefly prior to volunteering, at the age of 18, to serve with the Canadian Army in World War 2 from 1943 to 1946, as a Gunner with the 7th Medium Regt., R.C.A., seeing action in Holland and Germany in 1945. In 1946, he attended Khaki University in England where in a fateful debate he met his wife of 48 years, Cynthia Emily ROY. After returning to Canada in 1946, he obtained a B.C.L. degree from McGill University, winning the Gold Medal. He pursued his studies in France, obtaining a Docteur de l'Université from the Université de Lyon. He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1949; becoming a Q.C. in 1961. During the 1950's and 1960's, Gerald practised law in Montreal, with Walker Martineau, and as a partner in the firm of Riel, Le Dain, Bissonnette, Vermette and Ryan where he was counsel to the Attorney General of Quebec in constitutional cases, and in the legal department of the Canadian International Paper Co. For eight years during this period he was a professor of law at McGill University. In 1967, he became dean of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. From 1969 to 1973, he chaired the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. Two years later, he was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal. He was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1984. He served on the Supreme Court for four years and retired in 1988. He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1989. Gerald LE DAIN lived life with exuberance and passion, with integrity and a strong sense of responsibility, and with a profound commitment to Canada. The warmth of his personality, the power of his intellect, and his ability to bring clarity to complex issues enriched us all. Friends are invited to visit at the Central Chapel of Hulse, Playfair and McGarry, 315 McLeod Street, Ottawa, on Thursday, December 27, 2007 from 2: 00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The funeral will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, 439 Queen Street, Ottawa, on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 2: 00 p.m. Condolences may be sent to www.mcgarryfamily.ca

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