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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  • Robert Melville Green, In Memoriam

    1970s

    Robert Melville Green 

    – MSc’74, PhD’77

    Fondly known as “Bob” by family and friends, Robert Melville Green passed away peacefully in Ottawa on Nov. 3, 2023. Predeceased by his parents, Melville Green and Ruth Green; and his mother-in-law, Sim Ying Leung Lai. Survived by his wife of 48 years, Paula, son Alexander; daughter-in-law, Qing Hua and grandchildren, Henry and Conrad; sister, Nancy (Doug) and brother, Bruce (Manon) and their families. Dearly missed by his father-in-law, Sau Nam Lai; sisters-in-law, Rosita (Frank), Myrtle (Liu), Violet (Mansion), and Mona (Paul); brothers-in-law, Michael (predeceased) (Karreen) and Gabriel; and his many nieces and nephews.

    Bob left home in Montreal at the age of 16 to pursue his university studies, achieving a BSc (UNB), MSc and PhD (Queen’s) in Biochemistry, as well as a DPA (Carleton) and MBA (Ottawa) through part-time study. Building on his success in scientific and clinical research, combined with his superb analytical skills, Bob worked as a reviewer of drug and medication submissions at Health Canada for over 20 years. For a significant period, he acted as section chief, earning tremendous support and respect from his peers and colleagues.

    Bob always had a keen interest in sports and music. He was a cross-country runner, cross-lake swimmer, and a seasoned badminton player. He played the recorder beautifully and was a bass singer with a local community choir for years.

    Bob volunteered as coach, score keeper, manager, and umpire for both baseball and badminton, when his son was competing in these sports. He continued volunteering and coaching kids to teach them new skills. 

    In retirement, he enjoyed travelling, going on cruises worldwide, live theatre, reading, and playing with his grandchildren.

    Always socially and environmentally conscious, Bob was a local area coordinator, canvasser, or donor for many charities, notably: the Ontario Kidney Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ecojustice, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, the Canadian Red Cross, and the Canadian Cancer Society. He was a regular blood donor with over 100 donations.

    Bob’s signature beard, friendly and gentle disposition drew him close to a lot of people, especially children who often mistook him for Santa and were always happy to receive a knowing smile in return. Bob will always be remembered by those who have known him as a smart, kind, helpful, generous, and humble individual.

  • 1960s

    John Eric Anderson

    – MD’61

    Winter 2023

    John Eric Anderson died peacefully surrounded by his loving family on May 7, 2023, at Kingston General Hospital in his 87th year. The only son of Archdeacon Allan Anderson and Isobel Anderson, and much loved husband of Eleanor (Kidd) (BNSc’62); cherished father of Bruce (Louise), Jim (Penny BFA’91, Ed’92) and Beth (Kevin); proud grandfather of Benjamin (Sc’22) and Daniel (Sc’27) Anderson, Owen and Cameron McCall; brother-in-law to the late Richard Kidd (MD’63) and his wife Maryellyn.

    John was a compassionate family physician to many and a dedicated teacher and accomplished researcher to many more at Queen’s School of Medicine. After graduating, John interned at Montreal General Hospital, and then he began his practice in Picton, Ont., in 1963. He moved back to Kingston in 1971 to join as one of the founding members of The Family Practice Unit, which later became The Department of Family Medicine at Queen’s. He continued to work in The Department of Family Medicine until his retirement in 1998. 

    Always a lover of the outdoors, in retirement John cherished his time with family and friends at their cottage at Desert Lake, Ont.

  • 1950s

    James Ward Quinton-Clark

    – PhD’58

    James Ward Quinton-Clark was born on Jan. 19, 1932, in Lethbridge, Alta. He was the elder of two sons of Dorothy Granahan Clark and Ward Ferguson Clark. He attended Central School for Grades 1 to 8 and the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute for Grades 10 to 12. 

    After one year at the University of Alberta, he attended McGill University where he received a BA in 1953 and an MA in 1955. At Queen’s, he received the university’s first PhD in psychology. From 1959 to 2000 he taught psychology at Dalhousie University. 

    In 1963 Dr. Barbara Smith Oliver became Jim’s wife. Barbara’s career as a psychologist was cut short by Alzheimer’s. Jim was devoted to Barbara and that continued throughout the 20 years of her dementia. In 2010 Jim married Maxine Quinton (Maxine Quinton-Clark) and they lived together happily on a small island in Chester Basin with their beloved pups. Jim had two great passions: classical music and his lifelong love of reading. With his iPad and his coffee in the morning, he immersed himself in the New York Times, the many readings of Shakespeare’s plays; Montaigne’s essays; the works of Tolstoy; Orwell – reading gave him joy. In the evenings, with a splash of Crown Royal, Jim would join Maxine, and together they sat, enthralled by hours of their favourite composers, most especially Brahms. He also had a natural happiness about him. He loved each day and the simple things gave him pleasure. 

    It was with a mixture of sadness and awe that we said goodbye to this remarkable man. He passed away in 2022.

    Jim leaves behind his wife, Maxine; his brother, Barry and Barry’s wife, Terry; his sons, Jesse and Bret Harley; his grandsons, Charlie and Jackson Little-Harley and their mom Erin Little; and friends old and new, who challenged him intellectually and who made him laugh with delight. Thank you to those who made his life even brighter.

  • Edwin John Mills, In Memoriam

    1950s

    Edwin John Mills

    – BSc’52

    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, In Memoriam

    1950s

    Marion Harbin

    – BA/BPHE’55 

    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, In Memoriam

    1970s

    Dr. Philip Ein Wannamaker

    – BSc’76

    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.