Stephen A. Jarislowsky 1925-2026
Investor, philanthropist and champion of higher education, Stephen Jarislowsky, LLD’08, passed away on October 8, 2026, at the age of 101. The founder of the investment management firm Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd., he was a staunch defender of business ethics and advocated for shareholder rights and the small investor. His principles inspired the creation of the Jarislowsky Foundation in 1991, which supports excellence and ethics in education, medicine, the arts, the environment and democracy.
He received honorary doctorates from 20 universities across Canada, including from McGill in 2008, and he and his foundation endowed dozens of research chairs nationwide, including the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Human Nature and Technology in McGill’s Faculty of Arts and the Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Urology in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
1940s
Walter Mingie, BSc(PE)’48, in Ottawa, Ontario, on September 6, 2026.
Alexander Gray Hyde, BEng’49, on August 10, 2026.
Griffin M. Marshall, BCom’49, in Vancouver, Washington, on June 14, 2026.
1950s
Baylie (Schulman) Kastner, BSc’50, on June 1, 2026.
Janet Scott, BA’50, in Toronto, Ontario, on September 18, 2026.
Patricia Davis Waterston, BA’50, in Montreal, on June 1, 2024.
Andrew Poznanski, BSc’52, MDCM’56, on June 8, 2026.
Ian Clark, BA’53, MA’58, in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2026.
Margaret “Meg” Kerber, BSc’53, in Danvers, Massachusetts, on June 8, 2026.
Ruiko Moritsugu, BSc’54, on May 22, 2026.
William “Jerry” Tostevin, BEng’54, in Toronto, Ontario, on March 18, 2026.
N. Paul Rosman, BSc’55, MDCM’59, in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 18, 2026.
Irving H. Smith, MA’55, PhD’63, in Montreal, on March 5, 2026.
Andrew Wittkower, BSc’55, in Rockport, Massachusetts, on March 14, 2026.
John Abbott, BEng’57, in Fonthill, Ontario, on July 2, 2026.
Jane Elizabeth Kean, BSc(HEc)’57, in Newmarket, Ontario, on August 1, 2026.
Peter Landolt, BEng’57, in Orillia, Ontario, on April 14, 2026.
Ronald Ross, BEng’57, in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, on April 16, 2026.
Paul James Trussler, BArch’57, in Nipissing, Ontario, on September 10, 2026.
Ruth Elaine Jones, BLS’58, on July 13, 2026.
Leonard William Kostaszek, BEng’58, on September 10, 2026.
Patricia Baird, BSc’59, MDCM’63, in Vancouver, B.C., in August 2026.
Hugh Hall, BArch’59, in Houston, Texas, on August 10, 2026.
Beverley A. Manion, BA’59, on July 12, 2026.
J. Douglas Maule, BSc’59, DDS’62, on March 16, 2026.
Paul R. Marchand Jr. 1941-2026
Throughout his distinguished career as a lawyer and philanthropist, Paul Marchand Jr., BCL’66, LLM’85, who passed away on April 21, 2026, maintained close ties with McGill and other Montreal institutions, supporting a variety of causes including medicine, nursing, and education.
As president of the Doggone Foundation, Marchand helped establish McGill’s Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4) through a transformative and prescient $15-million gift in 2018, advancing vital research during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation also made significant contributions to the Ingram School of Nursing and the McGill University Health Centre. Marchand was awarded the prestigious Medal of the National Assembly, in recognition of his selfless dedication to improving the well-being of Quebecers.
1960s
Patricia Welbourn Lorsch, BA’60, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 14, 2026.
Peter Howland, MDCM’61, in New York, New York, on April 29, 2026.
Paul Kelly, MDCM’61, in California, on July 20, 2026.
Randal Marlin, MA’61, on May 15, 2026.
Ronald Graham Simpson, MDCM’61, in Santa Rosa, California, on June 25, 2026.
Robert W. Tate, BA’61, on March 18, 2026.
Frances Mary Woodward, BLS’61, on July 30, 2026.
Michael Hasley, BA’62, on May 9, 2026.
William Morse Lawson, BSc’62, in Gatineau, Quebec, on July 31, 2026.
Robert L. Colby, BSc’63, on May 23, 2026.
Frank Bohm, BEng’63, in Kanata, Ontario, on June 6, 2026.
Maxine Florence Wardle, BA’63, in Toronto, Ontario, on July 31, 2026.
Eugene Terry, BSc(Agr)’64, MSc’66, in Washington, D.C., on April 7, 2026.
Thomas Hamblin, BEng’65, MEng’74, in Cobourg, Ontario, on March 5, 2026.
Robert Douglas Miller, BSC’65, MDCM’69, in Guelph, Ontario, on March 12, 2026.
Shiela (Hanson) Besel, DipNursing’66, BN’67, in Vancouver, B.C., on May 1, 2026.
Paul Marchand, BCL’66, LLM’85, on April 21, 2026.
Alice Oldland, DipNursing’66, in Lennoxville, Quebec, on September 10, 2026.
D. Sewall Miller, MDCM’67, in Geneseo, New York, on September 25, 2026.
Antoine Laoun, BEng’68, MBA’70, on May 22, 2026.
Van Shron, BSc’68, on September 21, 2026.
Barry Skarf, BSc’68, MDCM’77, in Detroit, Michigan, on September 8, 2026.
1970s
Evelyn Barrack, BSc’70, on July 13, 2026.
Rodolfo “Rudy” Poliquit Borromeo, GradDipMedicine’ 71, in Toronto, Ontario, on April 30, 2026.
Mavis Lloyd, BEd’71, MEd’76, on August 18, 2026.
Mary Willo Coote, BA’72, in Anchorage, Alaska, on April 25, 2026.
Michael Wilfrid Higgs, BA’72, MBA’79, in St. Catherines, Ontario, on April 22, 2026.
Brian R. Holmes, BA’72, in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 15, 2026.
Diane Hilda Merker, MEd’73, on February 3, 2026.
Robert G. Thompson, BSc’73, MDCM’75, on June 12, 2026.
William Lange, BTh’74, in Troy, Michigan, on June 18, 2026.
David Rideout, BSc’74, MDCM’80, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on July 5, 2026.
William Norman Hall, MDCM’75, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on May 8, 2026.
Roberta Vandevier, MEd’75, on April 22, 2026.
Pasquale R. Di Raddo, BSc’76, PhD’83, on May 24, 2026.
Pushpa Shiri, MA’76, on March 30, 2026.
Denyse Thompson, BSc(PT)’76, on July 7, 2026.
Susan Walp, BSc(Agr)’76, in Cranbrook, B.C., on June 28, 2026.
Rudolph A. Marcus 1923-2026
Chemist and Nobel laureate Professor Rudolph A. “Rudy” Marcus, BSc’43, PhD’46, DSc’88, passed away in Pasadena, California, on July 16, 2026, five days before his 103rd birthday. Marcus taught at Caltech for 48 years and authored some 500 publications over his nearly 80-year career.
In 1992, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems.” Named after him, the revolutionary theory explains the rate at which an electron can move from one chemical species to another. It provided invaluable insights into everything from how batteries function to how fireflies produce light. Among many other accolades, Marcus received an honorary doctorate from McGill in 1988.
1980s
Luba Kowal, BCL’80, LLB’80, on July 26, 2026.
John Marrone, BEng’81, MBA’90, on August 22, 2026.
Henri-Paul Normandin, BCL’81, in Montreal, on June 7, 2026.
Blanche Beverly Olejnik, MBA’81, in Vancouver, B.C., on June 21, 2026.
Roger John Wehrell, MBA’82, in Nova Scotia, on February 13, 2026.
Paul Karl Melhus, MBA’83, in Vancouver, B.C., on March 5, 2026.
Alison Gregory Larsen, BA’85, in Eliot, Maine, on August 16, 2026.
Ken de la Barre, MA’88, in Whitehorse, Yukon, on May 8, 2026.
2010s
Calum Tomas Jensen, BMus’19, MMus’23, in Chicago, Illinois, on February 13, 2026.
Faculty and staff
Gilles Bertrand, MSc’53, emeritus professor of neurology and neurosurgery, on February 24, 2026.
John Commissiong, former faculty member, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, on September 12, 2025.
Michael Klein, former chair of the Department of Family Medicine, in Roberts Creek, B.C., on June 10, 2026.
Geoffrey W. Lehman, BA’49, MDCM’53, DipSurgery’59, retired associate professor of surgery, on March 27, 2026.
Mortimer Levy, BSc’57, MDCM’61, emeritus professor of physiology, in Montreal, on April 6, 2026.
Arak M. Mathai, emeritus professor of mathematics and statistics, on December 20, 2025.
Richard Ian Ogilvie, former chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, in Toronto, Ontario, on May 10, 2026.
Apostolos Papageorgiou, professor of pediatrics, in Westmount, Quebec, on July 1, 2026.
Nicholas Rumin, BEng’57, MSc’61, PhD’66, emeritus professor of electrical engineering, on September 13, 2026.
Robert Sladek, associate professor of human genetics and medicine, in Montreal, on March 3, 2026.
Gordon Smith, BEng’58, MEng’61, PhD’67, emeritus professor of metallurgical engineering, on September 14, 2026.
Lyle Whyte, professor of natural resource sciences, on July 2, 2026.
Varoujan Yaylayan, professor, Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, in Montreal, on February 21, 2026.