In Memoriam

Remembering Queen's alumni.

Those Who Have Passed

Sharing memories of friends, faculty, and colleagues - In Memoriam helps you honour those who have recently passed.

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  • Madaleine Brookes, In Memoriam

    2000s

    Madaleine 鈥淏andit鈥 Brookes

    鈥 BA鈥03聽

    Spring 2024


    Madaleine 鈥淏andit鈥 Brookes passed away April 19, 2023, at 42. She is survived by her family of Queen鈥檚 alumni: her father, Allan Brookes (Sc鈥72); step-mother, Sarah Brookes (n茅e Frost) (Artsci鈥80); and step-grandfather, Harry Frost (Arts鈥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鈥檚 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: 鈥淭he best thing about Maddy was her kindness and compassion. She taught me to be more empathetic and to give people second chances鈥. She always saw the best in people, and gently encouraged others to do the same.鈥

     

  • 1960s

    Dr. Simon Joseph Kovacs

    鈥 MD鈥62

    Spring 2024

    Simon Joseph Kovacs, age 95, died on Feb. 1, 2024, in Kingston, Ont. Simon is survived by his devoted wife, Marylin; his children, Michael (m. Judy), Christopher (m. Lisa), and Katherine (m. Ian Sempowski); as well as grandchildren, Caileigh, Jamieson, Matthew, Aidan, and Philip; step-grandchildren, Michelle Sempowski and Emma Walters; and the 15-year-old Yorkshire Terrier "Teddy" that he so loved. He is also survived by two of his Hungarian brothers, Joseph (lives in Szombathely, Hungary) and George (lives in Miami, Florida). He was preceded in death by his parents; four of his Hungarian brothers (the first Leslie, who died as a baby, the second Leslie, Nicholas, and Andrew); and his step-grandson, Brian Sempowski.

    Simon was born in R茅pceszemere, a small village in Hungary, on March 9, 1928, the first of seven sons born to Joseph and Ilona (n茅e Simon) Kov谩cs. His first name lovingly preserved his mother's maiden name. He went to high school in Sopron and to college in Szeged and Budapest, seemingly destined to follow local tradition of the eldest son becoming a Jesuit priest. But then the life-changing upheavals started. 

    During the Second World War, Jewish classmates and friends were removed from his high school, rounded up in an alleyway, never to appear again; he only learned much later that they'd been killed. An entire street of buildings where he lived for a year during school was completely destroyed by bombing. Late in the war, Russian allied forces began staying in R茅pceszemere. They grabbed Simon when he returned home one night from Sopron, interrogating and threatening to shoot him as a suspected Nazi spy, until his father was able to convince the Russians that this was his son, newly returned from school. 

    The communist occupation of Hungary intensified after the war with more incidents that frightened and alarmed him. The Catholic schools were occupied by the communists, and he and his classmates were locked down in a basement. In 1949 he escaped Hungary in the middle of the night. Like a scene out of a movie, it was a stealthy effort to avoid soldiers and guards, and crawl through barbed wire and other barriers at the border. For several years his parents and all but one of his brothers thought he was dead; they couldn't know that he'd fled, lest they be held and interrogated in retaliation. Alone, Simon made his way through several European countries, awaiting an end to the Russian occupation 鈥 but it didn't end. 

    Eventually he left Italy on the transport ship Fair Seas as a displaced person from the war. His intended destination was Australia, but upon arriving in the U.K. in December 1951, the ship for Australia had recently departed and there wouldn't be another one for months. He learned that another ship was leaving for Canada soon, and so, rather than wait, he changed his mind and our destiny 鈥 otherwise this story would be recounted somewhere else and in quite different accents. 

    Eventually his parents and brothers in Hungary learned that he was alive, well, and safe. After arriving in Canada, the life-changing upheavals were over. Simon made his way to Toronto and worked in a factory making heating elements for ovens and stoves while saving up for his further education. His brothers smuggled his transcripts out of the country to enable him to apply for medical school. He was accepted at Queen's and moved to Kingston, where he met and fell in love with Marylin Ann Liston. They were married on Sept. 5, 1959. 

    Upon his graduation, they moved to Toronto for his rotating internship at Toronto East General Hospital. Sometime after this he set up a general (family) practice in Richmond Hill, Ont. But seven years of doctoring proved more than enough for him. Bored and tired of it, he closed his practice in 1973 and went to work for the Ontario Ministry of Health in Toronto, later settling in Glenburnie after the offices moved to Kingston. He held that position until retirement at age 65. 

    After that, he settled into his favourite activities of working in the backyard, reading history, and fiction (Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler), listening to the Metropolitan Opera, watching movies, and keeping up on world news. 

    He never returned to Hungary (but stayed in touch with overseas calls), nor did he leave Canada except for two brief trips into the U.S. Along the way Simon and Marylin had three children, all of whom followed in his medical footsteps and became university professors too: Michael Joseph (UWO Meds鈥86, a hematologist in London), Christopher Simon (Queen's Meds鈥89, an endocrinologist in St. John's and visual artist), and Katherine Ann (Queen's Meds鈥92, internist and endocrinologist in Kingston). 

    He was a quiet, stern, but fair parent, who encouraged, supported, and delighted in his children's pursuit of academic excellence. He showed his love by always being counted upon to be there, whatever the hour, when one of us needed transportation to and from our academic and extracurricular activities. 

    In the last several years, age and the pandemic took their toll on his energy and fitness, such that he needed the support of a nursing home. So too did Marylin. They remained inseparable through 64 wedding anniversaries until his recent death parted them. 

     

  • Roger T. Hughes, In Memoriam

    1960s

    Roger T. Hughes

    鈥 BSc鈥63

    Spring 2024

    Roger T. Hughes died peacefully at his home in Niagara-on-the-Lake on March 7, 2024, after a brief illness. Roger is survived by his wife, Susan Peacock; his children, Timothy (Lisa Mantello), Michael (Elizabeth Laitman Hughes), and Megan (Milosh Rodic); and his grandchildren, Magdalen, Simon, Beatrice, Nathaniel, and Lucie.

    He was born in Montreal in 1941 and grew up in Welland and Marathon, Ont. Roger graduated with an engineering degree from Queen鈥檚 and from the University of Toronto Law School in 1966. He enjoyed a successful career as a barrister, specializing in intellectual property litigation, but was happiest as a judge of the Federal Court of Canada from 2005 until his retirement in 2016.

  • Steve Bennett, In Memoriam

    1980s

    Stephen Bennett

    鈥 BSc'82聽

    Spring 2024

    A loving father and partner, Stephen Bennett (Steve) suffered a heart attack while riding his unicycle and later passed away peacefully at Foothills Hospital on Feb. 18, 2024, surrounded by family. Steve is survived by his mother, Beryl; his sister, Patricia; his partner, Stella; and his children, Jenna and Stanley.

    Steve was born on Sept. 1, 1959, in Clapham, England to Beryl and Peter Bennett. In 1965 the family moved to Ottawa, where Steve attended public school. During his high school years, Steve competed in long-distance running and cross-country skiing on the school team. With his cousin Dave Bennett, who Steve competed and trained with, he set a personal best of two hours, 43 minutes at the 1978 National Capital Marathon. 

    Steve obtained a BSc in Engineering Geophysics from Queen鈥檚 in 1982. While working on his engineering degree, Steve was also a member of the Queen鈥檚 cross-country ski team for three years. 

    Upon graduation, he moved to Calgary and enjoyed a rewarding career in geophysics as a seismic processor and programmer. He worked at Seiscom Delta United and Kelman Seismic Technology before founding his own successful company, Calcoulee Corporation, where he independently developed and leased high-end seismic processing modules. 

    Steve was a celebrated athlete and remained active throughout his entire life. Along with running and cross-country skiing, he excelled in speed skating, windsurfing, and swimming. For his 60th birthday, he reached his goal of swimming 6,000 metres using the butterfly stroke (his favourite). During the pandemic he took on the challenge of learning the unicycle and completed the Goat Creek Trail from Canmore to Banff (20 kilometres) in the summer of 2023. 

    Steve was known for his focused pursuit and mastering of any hobbies and activities that caught his interest. He taught his children about carpentry, raising pheasants, fishing, survival skills, and camping. Later in his life he became an award-winning beekeeper while also painting, sculpting and completing building projects on his property. Steve was always ready to lend a hand on any of his friend鈥檚 projects. 

     

  • Richard Steinberg, In Memoriam

    1940s

    Richard Steinberg

    鈥 BSc鈥49

    Spring 2024

    Richard (Bud) Steinberg provided a masterclass on how to live a good life. In his 96 years, he scaled mountains, sailed seas, ran marathons, served his community, devoured knowledge, excelled at nearly everything he tried, and loved his family tremendously. And he was loved in return. So, so loved.

    He passed away peacefully surrounded by family on the afternoon of Feb. 8, 2024, after a brief illness.

    Richard was married for 48 years to Jeannette (n茅e Ustation), and 23 years to Arvella (n茅e Litt) and loved both fiercely. He was father to eight children: Janis (Jim), John (Sherrie), Elise/Lisa, Martin (Debra), Matthew (Tina), Christopher, Andrew (Renae), and Geoffrey; and stepfather to Paul and Kim. He also leaves behind 26 grieving grandchildren, and 35 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by Jeannette, Arvella, Janis, as well as son-in-law, Robert; daughter-in-law, Helene; and siblings, Alvin and Marjorie. He is survived by his sister, Joyce.
    Richard was born in Dearborn, Michigan, on the outskirts of Detroit, in 1927. He and his family returned to Kitchener-Waterloo in 1932 and, other than his time at university, he remained in the area the rest of his life. 

    He studied mechanical engineering at Queen's and proudly graduated in 1949. He wore his engineer's iron ring throughout his life.

    He spent the bulk of his career at J.M. Schneider in Kitchener, but it was outside of work where he truly shined: coaching his children's sports teams, building backyard skating rinks, tackling seemingly impossible physical challenges, reading voraciously, meticulously cataloguing bird sightings, cracking dad jokes, playing cards, completing puzzles of both the jigsaw and crossword variety, sailing the world, swimming and/or running nearly daily, and making it all look effortless.

    He had a booming laugh, an explosive sneeze, an encyclopaedic knowledge of...nearly everything, really (one learned never to take him on at Trivial Pursuit). His hugs were legendary and his smile was infectious. Whether you called him Richard, Bud, Dad, PopPop, Uncle Bud, or Bumpa, he was sure to put a smile on your face and leave you just a little bit in awe. The world is a colder, emptier place without Richard in it. Heaven: You had better have your library fully stocked. You're going to need it.
     

  • Todd Barr, In Memoriam

    1990s

    Todd Arnold Barr聽

    鈥 BA鈥92, BEd鈥98

    Spring 2024

    Todd Arnold Barr died peacefully surrounded by family on Feb. 3, 2024. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Kate Huband, and their two children, Gabriel and Bella; his mother, Joan; and father, Doug (Lee Mink-Barr); his siblings, Sarah Brawley (Maykel), Jay Mink (Ashley), and Marne Wood (John Halsey); sister-in-law, Louisa Huband (Craig Moffat); brother-in-law, Paul Huband; and his nieces and nephews: Harry, Lilly, Michael, Mason, Halsey, Virginia, McIver, Slade, Juliana, Phoebe, and Thomas. He was the cherished son-in-law of the late Ann and Michael Huband. 

    Todd grew up in Toronto, attended Jarvis CI and Unionville HS and later graduated from Queen鈥檚 (Human Geography and Outdoor and Experiential Education). He also received his Masters of Education (OISE/UT) in 2003 in Community Development, Adult Education, Environmental Studies. 

    Todd鈥檚 passion for community lay at the heart of his professional life, including his work at Taylor Statten Camps, Katimavik, Rural Communities Impacting Policy, Hospice Peterborough, Trent Community Research Centre, Drug Strategy Network of Ontario and Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough. 

    He was an enthusiastic member of the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough and held board positions at the Peterborough Community Counselling and Resource Centre and the Peterborough City Soccer Association. 

    A life-long educator, mentor and community builder, Todd touched the lives of many with his tender heart, playfulness, curiosity, and wisdom. He taught without preaching and effortlessly drew out the best in people. He embraced life with all of its imperfections, found meaning in the most challenging moments, and reminded us that one of life鈥檚 成人大片 gifts is connectedness.  Todd was at his happiest in the outdoors and nature, which were the main inspiration for his poetry. He had a great passion for music of all genres and it played an integral role in his life. 

    In his last weeks when words were failing him, music never lost its ability to provide hope and refuge. His zest for life was obvious when canoeing, dancing, coaching soccer or building community. But most of all, Todd cared deeply for Kate, Gabe, and Bella, whose sorrow lies in the memory of Todd鈥檚 gentle, loving kindness.