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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  • 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. 

  • Robert (Bob) James Hubbard, In Memoriam

    1970s

    Robert (Bob) James Hubbard

    – BA’79, BEd’80

    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 Brookes, In Memoriam

    2000s

    Madaleine “Bandit” Brookes

    – BA’03 


    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.”

     

  • 1960s

    Dr. Simon Joseph Kovacs

    – MD’62

    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 Répceszemere, a small village in Hungary, on March 9, 1928, the first of seven sons born to Joseph and Ilona (née Simon) Kovács. 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 Répceszemere. 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 – 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 – 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’86, a hematologist in London), Christopher Simon (Queen's Meds’89, an endocrinologist in St. John's and visual artist), and Katherine Ann (Queen's Meds’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

    – BSc’63

    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’s 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

    – BSc'82 

    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’s in 1982. While working on his engineering degree, Steve was also a member of the Queen’s 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’s projects.