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Almost a year to the day of losing Violet (his ‘Honey’), Edwin John Mills – our vibrant Dad and Grampa – passed away at age 96 on Feb. 11, 2024, ending a life filled with wanderlust and globetrotting adventures. 

Edwin is survived by his children, Michael (Anne), Terry (Doug), Steven (Erna), Christie (Dave), Rob (Cory), (Zbyszek); sister-in-law, Audrey Neufeld; 13 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Edwin was predeceased by his wife, Violet; sister, Carole; and mother, Catherine Mills (née McClelland).

Edwin was raised on Eglinton Avenue above his grandfather’s bustling Toronto hardware store, and on a snowy hockey rink in Fitzroy Harbour in the Ottawa Valley, where he learned the value of close friendships and exploration. He joined the Canadian Army at 17. In his 20s, he enrolled at Queen’s, married Vi, and became a civil engineer. 

He took a job in Venezuela’s oil sector in 1957, when moving overseas with a young family was a novel and formidable undertaking. In the early 1960s they settled their family and made close lifelong friends on Weldon Crescent in Barrie, with Edwin working at York University on campus design and development, before moving abroad again to do similar work at universities in Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho. A lifelong fan of Toronto’s sports teams, sport featured prominently in Edwin’s life, and Vancouver’s North Shore offered the perfect climate for skiing, cycling, golf, and tennis throughout his active retirement years. 

Until his final weeks, Edwin walked the West Vancouver seawall at sunrise, where he’d laugh and swap stories with his friends enroute. Hours before he died, Edwin said that nothing made him as proud as the diverse and energetic family he and Vi raised. 

Marion Harbin passed away peacefully on March 12, 2024, at the age of 91. Marion spent 87 of her 91 years in Sudbury, the majority of them living on her beloved Lake Ramsey. Her father owned Sudbury Boat and Canoe and her mother, who was a nurse before having Marion and her cherished sister, Nancy, worked at the hospital in volunteer roles. The other four years she proudly spent at Queen’s, the alma mater of her aunt, sister, and cousins. 

She met her husband, Doug, while teaching at Nickel District Secondary School, where she taught physical education and coached many teams. It was impossible to go anywhere in Sudbury and not run into former students from Nickel District or Chelmsford High School, where she finished her career. 

A fierce competitor, Marion earned titles for skiing, swimming, tennis, canoeing, curling, dragon-boating, bowling, and bridge, and enjoyed fun games with her family, such as golf, ping-pong, French River bocce, card games, and board games, although she could manage to turn any of them into a competition. She loved to host bridge groups, Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties, dining groups, and invited many people to join family dinners. 

Marion often said she helped build two houses holding the other end of a piece of lumber. In the first house in New Sudbury, they raised their four children, and in their retirement house on Lake Ramsey they hosted many family get-togethers with Jeff and Penny (Scott and Diane), Karen and Mike (Jaime), Greg and Dolores (Darolyn and Mathew), and Laura and Gerard (John, Cory and Julia) and their treasured great-grandchildren, Audra and Lyla. 

Always at home on the water, Marion loved canoe trips with her family into Killarney, particularly when they included her sister and nephews Rod, Neil, and Andy. She could whip up a blueberry pie at a moment’s notice, and the ones made with wild Killarney blueberries were the best. Marion was an active community member at St. Stephen’s on the Hill United Church and St. Andrew’s United Church, as well as at the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW), where she held many positions and participated in fund-raising and scholarships aimed at creating opportunities for women. Marion and Doug also delivered for Meals on Wheels for over 25 years. 

Abundant with life-long friends, Marion and Doug travelled the world and had numerous gatherings at their chalet in Michigan and cottage on the French River with the Dicksons, Hanns, Pettits, Ryans, Perrys, Evans, Fields, Millikens, Stanyons, Bartolis, Stoltes, Dunns, Wells, Masihs, Urquarts, and many more. Marion was happiest when surrounded by family and friends and her pets.

Dr. Philip Ein Wannamaker, a loving father, partner, brother, and family member,
passed away on Aug. 22, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is survived by his daughter, Alexis Verson (Chris Petersen); partner, Barbara Wilson; brother, Robert Wannamaker (Karen Pipher; nephew, Aidan; and niece, Emily); the international tribe of geophysicists; and many other family members and dear friends.

Phil was born on Nov. 24, 1954, to Louise and Clifford Wannamaker in Belleville, Ont. Phil held a PhD in Electromagnetic Geophysics from the University of Utah (1983) and a BSc in Engineering Geology from Queen’s. Phil was active in basic and applied geophysical research in tectonics and geothermal for over 40 years – 30-plus with the Energy and Geoscience Institute. He was a renowned research professor in electromagnetic geophysics at the University of Utah, publishing 50-plus papers and advising 23 graduate student theses. Phil was happiest when he was working out in the field and led international teams in large research projects in U.S. Cascadia, Basin and Range; Southern Appalachia, New Zealand; and Antarctica. Dr. Wannamaker was an active member of the AGU, GRC, GSA, SEG, and ASEG.   In 2011 Phil was given the great honour of Fellow of the Geological Society of America and was a trustee and treasurer for the Gerald W. Hohmann Memorial Trust for Teaching and Research in Applied Electrical Methods. 

Phil also served as associate editor for several journals and as co-editor of a book on EM modelling and inversion and served on the board of Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology up until his death. 

Phil loved travelling all over the world with Barbara, his partner of 18 years, and he had a strong affinity for the Southern Utah desert, most particularly Capitol Reef. He was a member of the Native Plant Society, enjoyed developing his own native garden and helping with cultivation and preservation of native plants. He recently compiled and continued to work on extensive genealogy records for the family. Phil's comprehensive collection of 1800s maps and lithographs for the railroad survey in the Great Basin and Range area will be donated to a local museum for all to enjoy for generations to come. 

Robert (Bob) James Hubbard passed away peacefully at Kingston Health Sciences Centre on Nov. 5, 2023, at the age of 68. He was the loving son of Jean (née Murray) and the late Jerry (2001); dear brother of Peter, Tim (the late Sandra Turkington, 2011), Sandy, and Barbara Withers (Jim). 

He will be missed by his nieces, Selina (Ameer) and Larissa (Seena); nephews, Richard (Danielle) and Trevor; great-niece, Genesis; his chosen son, Robert Stevenson; his chosen daughter-in-law, Lisa Kelly; and many special friends. 

Madaleine “Bandit” Brookes passed away April 19, 2023, at 42. She is survived by her family of Queen’s alumni: her father, Allan Brookes (Sc’72); step-mother, Sarah Brookes (née Frost) (Artsci’80); and step-grandfather, Harry Frost (Arts’57).

Madaleine was a very active child. She was involved in swimming and gymnastics before she started school. She started figure skating and skiing at the age of six. She was given the opportunity to spend her first year of university at Herstmonceux Castle, an historic 15th-century castle in the U.K. donated to Queen’s by Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader. Her other activities included kayaking, rollerblading, yoga, belly dancing, learning Arabic, and travelling to old European cities to see the history. A wine lover at heart, she was on her way to being a sommelier. She and her dad would spend a week each year skiing in Europe and then tour the classical history of the cities in Europe. 

She worked at Davies Ward Phillips & and Vineberg as an administrative manager in training.

At her celebration of life, a friend said: “The best thing about Maddy was her kindness and compassion. She taught me to be more empathetic and to give people second chances…. She always saw the best in people, and gently encouraged others to do the same.”