O'HAGAN o@ca.on.middlesex_county.london.london_free_press 2007-01-13 published
WOLSEY,
Rick
Died with grace, honour and dignity on Sunday, January 7, 2007
in Saskatchewan. Devoted and cherished husband of Debbie
(O'HAGAN)
WOLSEY.
Loving and adored father of Krystalynne, Katie and Kimberly.
Funeral arrangements and a complete obituary announcement will
be in a later edition of the Sarnia Observer and London Free
Press. Arrangements entrusted to Smith Funeral Home, 1576 London
Line, Sarnia Ontario (519) 542-5541 www.smithfuneralhome.ca
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies
on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined
the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things
you Have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung High
in the silence. Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind
along, and flung My eager craft through the footless halls of
air. Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the
wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, nor even
eagle flew-And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The
high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched
the face of God.
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O'HAGAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-09-12 published
Headstrong Chief Executive Officer saved Churchill Falls and
rescued the Bank of Montreal
An emergency boss who took over after a plane crash wiped out
everyone else, he brought the power project in on time before
moving to a troubled Bank of Montreal, where he ruthlessly cleaned
house
By Gordon PITTS,
Page S8
Besides banking and family, William
MULHOLLAND's grand passion
was raising Hanoverian riding horses, which, according to one
of his nine children, are "headstrong, able and smart." Those
adjectives can just as easily be applied to her demanding father,
said Caroline
VAN
NOSTRAND.
Those traits helped propel Mr.
MULHOLLAND, a U.S.-born outsider,
into one of Canada's most exciting and controversial management
careers. He was the emergency boss who came in to save the massive
Churchill Falls power project in Labrador. Then he turned around
the Bank of Montreal, Canada's oldest bank, and as a financial-services
innovator helped change the country's banking industry.
As an agent of change at the lacklustre Bank of Montreal, he
fired executives who didn't measure up, winning a reputation
as a tough, uncompromising boss. He tightened credit policies,
led technological innovation and bought a Chicago bank in a far-sighted
move that anticipated a North American market. He helped lead
the Canadian commercial banks' march into investment banking
with the purchase of brokerage Nesbitt Thomson.
Like many turnaround managers, he was accused of staying too
long as Chief Executive Officer and losing touch with a rapidly
evolving industry. Yet he reached down into the ranks to develop
a new generation of Bank of Montreal leaders that included future
Chief Executive Officers Matthew Barrett and Anthony Comper.
He was a complicated man who was seen as remote, autocratic,
introverted and eccentric, but he was regarded as brilliant for
some of his strategic moves. He could become deeply absorbed
in detail and alarmingly inattentive to people's feelings. In
describing him, Friends often fall back on that old cliché: "He
did not suffer fools gladly."
"My father was not always easy," said Ms.
VAN
NOSTRAND, who lives
in Toronto. "He had exacting standards and he upheld them for
himself and expected others to do their best to get that same
quality.
"But you can't mistake that for a lack of true caring and love
and a huge commitment to family."
Still, for all his high standards and strategic thinking, Mr.
MULHOLLAND's
own career was almost haphazard, the product of tragic circumstances,
timing and managerial agility.
He was born in Albany, New York the
son of a civil servant who
became New York's director of parks. Even at birth, he had a
Canadian connection - his maternal great-grandmother was a French-Canadian
from Trois-Rivières. He attended Christian Brothers Academy,
a Catholic military school in Albany, where he became an expert
rider, marksman, and fly fisherman -- interests he pursued throughout
his life.
He graduated from high school, joined the U.S. Army during the
Second World War and trained as a weapons instructor before being
posted to the Philippines. After discharge, he entered Harvard
College, got his B.A., then earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business
School, while working in the summers as a park ranger.
He then parlayed a social connection with the financier Morgan
family to join the investment banking house Morgan Stanley and
pursue a career on Wall Street.
He married the daughter of a family friend, Nancy
BOOTH, on June 22,
1957. Their rearing of nine children (four daughters and five
sons) has been attributed by his wife to the consequences of
a union between an Irish Catholic and a Free Methodist.
Mr. MULHOLLAND thrived in investment banking. One of his clients
was Brinco, a Montreal firm of British-Canadian origins that
was building the $1-billion Churchill Falls hydro project. He
placed a $500-million bond issue for the company - at that time,
a record sale of securities by a corporation.
But on November 11, 1969, Brinco's executive jet crashed, killing
six members of its senior team, including the president and finance
vice-president. The company was leaderless at a critical juncture
in the Churchill Falls project. Mr.
MULHOLLAND "was the last
man standing who knew what it was all about," said Richard
O'HAGAN,
who was later his public-affairs specialist at Bank of Montreal.
In January, 1970, at the age of 43, he moved to Montreal to become
Brinco's president and Chief Executive Officer. He also joined
the board of the Bank of Montreal, which was the principal commercial
banker for the Churchill Falls project. He brought the project
in five months ahead of schedule and under budget.
Ron SOUTHERN, the Calgary-based head of Atco Ltd., was supplying
Brinco with housing for its Churchill Falls work force. He was
also negotiating to build housing factories in the Soviet Union
and invited Soviet president Alexsei Kosygin to tour his facilities
in Montreal. Mr.
MULHOLLAND agreed to provide testimonials for
the Atco products, and impressed Mr.
SOUTHERN with his ability
to hold his own in intense geopolitical discussions.
It was the beginning of a Friendship that was cemented in the
mid-1970s, when Mr.
SOUTHERN opened his Spruce Meadows equestrian
centre near Calgary. Mr.
MULHOLLAND attended the first major
equestrian event, impressing Mr.
SOUTHERN with his own riding
skills. Each year, he would take a long country ride on the morning
of the big event.
With
Churchill
Falls complete, Mr.
MULHOLLAND was recruited to
become the Bank of Montreal's president in 1975. He found another
organization in crisis mode. "It took him about a year to get
a grip on the bank, but he was a bulldog and he got it done,"
Mr. SOUTHERN said.
The new banker became immersed in Bank of Montreal's liquidity
problems and cost-control challenges, as well as its struggles
to move from manual systems to the computer age. After the incumbent
Chief Executive Officer retired, he took the top job in January,
1979, adding the chairman's role 2½ years later.
He was involved in hiring Mr.
O'HAGAN, who had served in the
Prime Minister's Office under another eccentric legend, Pierre
Trudeau. Mr.
O'HAGAN recalled how his job interview with Mr.
MULHOLLAND
stretched to more than two hours, until he finally telephoned
his next interview party to beg forbearance. Mr.
O'HAGAN was
fascinated by this brilliant, obsessive man and joined the Bank
of Montreal team.
That extended interview was a harbinger of the
MULHOLLAND style.
He was notorious for unpredictably long meetings, forcing managers
to queue up for hours, awaiting audiences that lasted long into
the evening.
He was determined to weed out the perceived dead wood that had
allowed the bank's problems to build. In his zeal to cleanse
the ranks, he was accused of creating a demographic crisis in
the bank. One unidentified manager told Report on Business magazine
in 1989 that "an entire generation of management has been cremated."
"Those judgments were not made whimsically - they were made on
the basis of performance," insisted Grant
REUBER, the bank's
president during the
MULHOLLAND era. "I don't think he relished
letting people go, but if they hadn't measured up and they hadn't
recovered, they probably didn't survive."
Jeff CHISHOLM, a retired Bank of Montreal executive, said he
never saw this side of his former boss - Mr.
MULHOLLAND simply
demanded honest answers from his managers. He said his positive
traits never came to light because the Chief Executive Officer
did not really care what critics thought of him.
Mr. MULHOLLAND also pulled off a deal that transformed the bank:
the 1984 purchase of Harris Bank, a U.S. Midwest regional powerhouse
based in Chicago. Some critics have contended that once the deal
was done, the bank didn't really capitalize on its new U.S. platform
- but at minimum, Mr.
MULHOLLAND created the potential platform.
"He had a vision about what was going to happen to the North
American economy and to financial services within North America,"
said Mr. Chisholm, a former Harris Bank executive who joined
Bank of Montreal.
Later, Mr.
MULHOLLAND moved quickly on the deregulation of Canada's
financial industry by acquiring Nesbitt Thomson, the foundation
of today's Bank of Montreal Nesbitt Burns Inc., the bank's investment
subsidiary.
Whether he stayed too long is much debated; it's a common problem
with strong leaders in politics and business. But Mr.
MULHOLLAND's
saving grace was to leave the bank in good hands.
Mr. Barrett, his successor, was a charming people person who
provided a sharp contrast with his more aloof predecessor. Mr.
MULHOLLAND
"knew he was not Mr. Popularity with everybody," Mr.
O'HAGAN
said. "He recognized there would be a contrast and that Barrett's
personal style would register differently. I think that was part
of the reason he chose him."
Mr. Barrett, now retired from banking, said in an e-mail message
that "Bank of Montreal shareholders and employees owe a debt
of gratitude to Bill for stepping into the bank at a difficult
time in its history. Those that succeeded him benefited greatly
from his legacy.
"He once joked that he built the Stradivarius that others played
beautifully. I certainly agree with that."
After he retired in 1990, Mr.
MULHOLLAND had time to focus on
family, horses and his beloved Windswept Farm near Georgetown,
west of Toronto. He worked to develop the Hanoverian breed in
Canada.
But in recent years, Parkinson's disease took its toll. At the
MULHOLLANDs' 50th wedding anniversary party in early July, Friends
felt he almost willed himself to attend. It wasn't long afterward
that he was admitted to hospital.
William MULHOLLAND was born in Albany, New York on June 16, 1926.
He died of complications from Parkinson's disease and other medical
problems at his home near Georgetown, Ontario, on September 8,
2007. He was 81. He is survived by his wife Nancy, nine children
and 11 grandchildren.
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O'HAGAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-12-14 published
O'HAGAN,
Breda
Eileen "
Girlie" (née
CRIBBIN)
(March 14, 1922-December 12, 2007)
The head of our family passed away on Wednesday, December 12,
2007 surrounded with love.
Breda Eileen
O'HAGAN was born in Dublin, Ireland on March 14,
1922, one of eight children of Thomas and Eileen
CRIBBIN.
Under
the watchful, kind and never-ending care of Sandra
PASKAS and
the Southwood Care Centre, 'Girlie' peaceably surrendered a life
that was lived to the fullest with adventure, humour and love
of family.
Predeceased by her husband, Peter J.
O'HAGAN,
Girlie is survived
by her children Hugh and Nancy
McCAFFERY of Portland, Oregon
Dan and Iris
McCAFFERY of Chicago, Illinois; Lorraine and Charlach
MacKINTOSH of Edmonton, Bernie and Jan
McCAFFERY of Calgary
as well as her devoted sister Monica
McKINLEY of Calgary and
loving brother and sister-in-law Joseph and Joy
CRIBBIN of Dublin,
Ireland.
Her extraordinary life lessons are a lasting gift to her thirteen
lovely grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. Her many
nephews, nieces and their families in Ireland, the United States,
Switzerland, England and Canada all remember her kindness and
her grace.
Funeral Services will be held at McInnis and Holloway'S, Park Memorial
Chapel (5008 Elbow Drive S.W., Calgary, Alberta) on Friday, December 14,
2007 at 11: 30 a.m.. In lieu of flowers please consider donations
to The Canadian Cancer Society. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com
In living memory of Breda
O'HAGAN, a tree will be planted at
Fish Creek Provincial Park by McInnis and Holloway Funeral Homes
Park Memorial Chapel, 5008 Elbow Drive S.W., Calgary, Alberta
Telephone: 1-800-661-1599.
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O'HALLORAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-12-04 published
HATELY,
George
W. (1932-2007)
On November 29th George passed away peacefully at his home, overlooking
his beloved view of Georgian Bay. As in life, George approached
his fight against cancer with zest and determination, surrounded
by family and Friends. George is survived by his wife and best
friend Jean, children Wendy, Drew (Tara) and Kerry (Dan), sisters
Joyce, and Carole (Carl), mother-in-law Aileen and the apples
of his eyes: grandchildren, Nicole, Nathan, Grace and Olivia.
Throughout life George's gentleness and humble nature, accompanied
by a contagious upbeat personality, always seemed to bring out
the best in us all whatever the occasion. George treasured the
company of family and Friends, and thrived on the opportunity
to share a tale or two…or even three. George had a passion for
his work and not only enjoyed both the challenges and the opportunities,
but the many people he worked with as he built his career servicing
the steel industry worldwide for nearly 20 years. Life never
stood still and George filled his retirement years with volunteer
work, golfing, skiing, travelling and helping Jean in the gardens.
The highlight of his retirement was his watercolour painting.
His passion to paint led him to be both a student and a teacher
of his craft and he truly enjoyed sharing his art with his family
and community. George continued to pursue his passion with vigour,
finishing his last painting only six weeks ago. Throughout the
eighteen months he battled his illness, George maintained his
spirit for life with a positive nature and a love of sharing
each and every day with family and Friends. The family wishes
to express their gratitude to their dear Friends, Cannon Tom,
Rev. Heather, the professional staff at the Odette Cancer Centre
at Sunnybrook, the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital and
Dr. O'HALLORAN for their support and kindness over the last year
and a half. Donations can be made to the Odette Cancer Centre
at Sunnybrook. The Collingwood General and Marine Hospital and
the Canadian Cancer Society. There will be a visitation at the
family home, 49 Madeline Drive, Collingwood, on Sunday, December 9th
from 2-5 p.m. and a celebration of life service at All Saints
Anglican Church, 32 Elgin Street, Collingwood, on Monday, December 10th
at 1 p.m., reception to follow. For information, directions,
remarks or condolences please visit www.fawcettfuneralhomes.com
or www.allsaintscollingwood.com.
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O'HALLORAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-12-05 published
TAILOR/TAYLOR,
Winnifred
Margaret (née
MacHIN)
Having lived a long and full life, Winnifred passed away peacefully
on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 in her 95th year. She was predeceased
by her beloved husband Edmund Gerrard (1970). Winn will be remembered
with love by her children Jane and her husband Art
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT,
John
and his wife Pat, and Peter and his wife Helena. She was the
much loved Grandma of Michael
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT
(Leah,)
Kristi
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT,
Dawn (Todd
THOMPSON/THOMSON/TOMPSON/TOMSON) and Tony
TAILOR/TAYLOR, and adoring Grandma G.G.
to James and Ryan
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT.
Winn was predeceased by her brothers
Wilf and Cec
MacHIN and her sister Olive
O'HALLORAN. A truly
great lady, she will be missed by extended family and Friends
including those in Toronto, Barrie, and England. The family wish
to thank the staff of Markhaven Home for Seniors for the wonderful
compassionate care that Winn has received for the past few years.
Friends will be received at the Chapel Ridge Funeral Home, 8911 Woodbine
Ave. (4 lights north of Hwy 7) Markham, 905-305-8508 on Wednesday,
December 5th, from 7-9 p.m. The Funeral Service will take place
on Thursday, December 6th at 1 p.m. in the Chapel. Private Interment.
If desired, donations in Winn's name can be made to The Markhaven
Foundation, 54 Parkway Ave. Markham, Ontario L3P 2G4 or The York
Durham Aphasia Centre, Parkview Village, 12184 Ninth Line, Stouffville,
Ontario L4A 3N6.
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O'HARA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-08-13 published
ALLMAN,
Audrey
Rose
Mulraine (née
FOWKE)
Passed away peacefully at home on Friday, August 10, 2007 at
the age of 87. Wife of the late Kenneth Gordon
ALLMAN.
Dearly
loved mother of children Barbara and her husband Antonin
KUBICEK,
John and his wife Lynda, Robert and his wife Lise, and James
and his wife Hildegard. Cherished grandmother to Hana, Kenneth,
Jason, Devon, and Sharon and great-grandmother to Nicholas and
Thomas.
Beloved sister to Malcolm
SHERGOLD, the late Freda ("Bubbles")
GALLO, and the late Pamela
O'HARA.
Much loved sister-in-law to
Alan and his wife Margaret, and Margaret and her late husband
A.W. (Bill)
BLACKMORE. Dear aunt of nieces and nephews. Visitation
will be held at Pine Hills Visitation Chapel And Reception Centre
(625 Birchmount Road, North of St. Clair 416-267-8229) on Wednesday,
August 15, 2007 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Service will take
place on Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 11: 00 a.m. at Saint_Jude
Wexford Anglican Church (10 Howarth Avenue, East of Victoria
Park - South of Lawrence) with reception to follow. Burial at
Pine Hills Cemetery at 2: 30 p.m. Donations may be made to the
Canadian Cancer Society.
"To live in the hearts we leave behind, is not to die."
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O'HARA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-09-08 published
LANE,
Edythe
F.
(BERRY)
Born in Brantford, Ontario, March 5, 1907. Died in Toronto September 3,
2007. Beloved wife of the late Richard C. (Dick)
LANE for 77 mutually
supportive years; loving and cherished mother of Robert and his
partner Marjorie
KOPPERUD, and
of John and his wife Pat; loving
grandmother of Judy
DUIVESTEYN and her husband Peter, Richard N.
LANE and his wife Clare, Ted
LANE, Margaret
LANE and her husband
Michael O'HARA,
Rebecca
LANE and her husband Les
MANDEVILLE and
Jeremy LANE and his fiancée Amy
ARMSTRONG; and proud great-grandmother
of Cheryl, Eric, Laura and Ruthann
DUIVESTEYN,
Robyn and Alix
LANE,
Dylan and Abigail
O'HARA, and Reed
MANDEVILLE. Edythe grew
up in Tillsonburg and Guelph, Ontario. An excellent student,
she trained as a nurse at Clifton Springs, New York. Edythe and
Dick lived in Toronto and summered for 53 years in Southampton,
Ontario. An accomplished and contented homemaker, Edythe was
also an avid reader who loved ideas and enjoyed philosophical
discussions. She and Dick were long-time supporters of theatre
and music, and they loved entertaining. In every respect she
was an inspiration to all her family. We are most grateful to
the caregivers at Briton House for their compassionate care over
the last seven years. A service of thanksgiving for Edythe's
life will be held on Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 11: 00 a.m.
at Morley Bedford Funeral Home, 159 Eglinton Ave. W., Toronto
(2 lights west of Yonge St.) with visitation one half hour prior
and reception to follow.
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O'HARA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-10-25 published
GRASSBY,
Robert
Leigh, P.Eng. (1920-2007)
Peacefully at Saint Mary's Hospital surrounded by his loving family
on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007. Husband of the late Joan
O'HARA
and Florence
WALSH. Dear father of Leigh, Janet (Pierre
CHOLETTE,)
Robert (Lynn
SWEENEY), John (Rhonda
HAMEL-
SMITH), Brian (Joanna
BENNETT) and Elizabeth (Mike
STEFAN.)
Grandfather of Timothy,
Shaughn and Katie
McAULIFFE,
Eric
(Joanna
MacLEOD,) Jennifer
and Emily CHOLETTE,
Ryan and Robyn
GRASSBY, Andrew,
Jamie and
Alex (Fritzy)
GRASSBY,
Maggie and Robbie Hamel-Smith
GRASSBY,
Riley and Samantha
STEFAN.
son of the late Arthur
GRASSBY and
Amelia MARRIN of Winnipeg. Predeceased by his brothers, Gerald,
Edward, Hugh, Kenneth, Richard and his three sisters Louise,
Marguerite and Joyce. Survived by his brother James of Sudbury.
Robert was President and Chief Executive Officer of Montreal
Locomotive Works, V.P. of Dominion Bridge and Plant Engineer
and Manager of research and development for Robert Mitchell Co.
He was also President and board member of Saint Mary's Hospital,
V.P. and director of Engineer's Club, board member of Hermitage
Club, Honorary member of The Royal Montreal Golf Club and board
member of Concordia University. During the war years he served
in Northwest Europe, Italy and United Kingdom as a lieutenant,
captain and acting major. He was a strong, loving, interested
father and grandfather who leaves behind a supportive loving
family who hope to follow his lead. Visitation at the Kane and
Fetterly Funeral Home, 5301 Decarie Blvd., Montreal, Québec (corner
Isabella) on Friday from 6-9 p.m. Funeral Mass at St. Edmund
of Canterbury Church (corner St. Charles and Beaconsfield), Beaconsfield,
on Saturday, October 27 at 2: 00 p.m. If desired, donations may
be made in his memory to the Saint Mary's Hospital Foundation,
3830 Lacombe Ave., Montreal, H3T 1M5. Condolences may be received
at www.kanefetterly.com
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