Funeral arrangements by
Memorial Funeral Home (London)
WILLIAMS Sharon Williams passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 in her 60th year. Beloved wife of the late Glenn Williams (2002). Loving mother of Rick, Mike (Annette), Kevin (Julie) and Jason. Loved grandmother of Kevin, Nolan, Ashley and Brendan. Cherished daughter of Minnie Chapelle. Dear sister of Betty and Lenny. Sharon will also be missed by her loving dogs Jasmine and Bailey. The family will receive friends and relatives at Forest Lawn Memorial Chapel, 1997 Dundas Street East (at Wavell), London for visitation on Friday from 2-4 & 7-9 pm. Funeral service will be held on Saturday, May 1, 2004 at 4 pm. Cremation to follo
Mr. William Varsch
Funeral arrangements by
Memorial Funeral Home (London)
VARSCH William. Peacefully at Victoria Hospital, Westminster Campus on Monday April 19th, 2004. Beloved husband of Margaret Varsch (nee Waagen). Loved father of Drew (Linda) Varsch of Brights Grove, Diann (Bruce) Vince of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Janice (Zolton) Balogh of London and Maria Browder of Royal Oak Michigan. Loving grandfather of Jason, Colleen, Sonja-Lea, Teresa, Mary, Mark, Allison, Eva, Jeffrey, Nathan and Justin. Dear brother of Endre Varsch and Irma Varsch, both of Budapest, Hungary. Interment of cremated remains at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens, London. In lieu of flowers, donations to the London Health Science Centre-Oncology Department would be appreciated.
Mrs. Margaret Helen Johnston (née Miller)
July 29, 1921 - March 29, 2004
Funeral arrangements by
Nisbett Funeral Home
JOHNSTON, MARGARET H. - At Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Hospital Dr. site, on Monday March 29, 2004. Margaret (Miller) of Peterborough in her 83rd year. Beloved wife of Richard (Dick) Johnston. Dear mother of Susan (Tony Davidson) of Bridgenorth, Mike (Julie) of Fowlers Corners and Lori (Andy Bootsma) of Ajax. Loving grandmother of Leslie (Jerry), Courtney, Michael and Kody. Funeral service from the NISBETT FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 600 Monaghan Rd. S., on Thursday April 1, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. Visitation one hour prior. Rev. officiating. Memorial donations to the Hospital for Sick Children or the Salvation Army Children's Holiday Camp, would be appreciated by the family.
Mr. Robert Stanley Johnson
December 22, 1945 - March 12, 2004
Funeral arrangements by
Butler Funeral Home (Niagara St.)
Johnson, Robert on Friday, 5:30 p.m., March 12, 2004. The door to a new world was opened for Robert Stanley Johnson. The windows to our world for his eyes are maintained by his son and daughter, Kevin and Siobhan, wife Jill, mother Ethel, sisters Ellen and Nancy, and everyone else touched by his life. R.I.P. Dec.22, 1945-Mar. 12, 2004 The family will receive friends at the Niagara Street Chapel of Butler Funeral Home 424 Niagara St. (south of Scott) on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 from 6 to 9 p.m. A private family service will take place on Thursday followed by interment of Robert's cremated remains at St. Davids United Church cemetery. As expressions of sympathy memorial donations to The Lung Association or to Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters would be appreciated by the family. Butler 905-646-632
Elvin Wayne Higgins
December 04, 1945 - March 18, 2004
Funeral arrangements by
Burke Funeral Home
Higgins, Elvin Wayne At the Belleville General Hospital on Thursday March 18th 2004 in his 59th year. Beloved husband of Beryl Margaret. Beloved son of Ray Higgins and the late Elsie Higgins. Loving father of Gregory of Belleville, Trevor of Trenton and Jason of Carrying Place. Dear brother of Leola (Royce) Doxtator, Claude, Reta (Dennis) Brooks and Deborah (Roy) Thompson. Loved son in law of Helen McMechan. He will be missed by his nieces and nephews. Friends are invited to call at the Burke Funeral Home (968-6968) 150 Church St. Belleville on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. Funeral service will be held in the chapel on Thursday March 25th. 2004 at 11:00 A.M. Rev. Margaret Coleman officiating. Members of Trent Lodge No 38 A.F. & A.M. are invited to attend the Masonic Service Wednesday evening at 6:45 P.M. In lieu of flowers memorial donations to Albury United Church or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family
Mitchell Sharp, Political Elder Statesman
May 11, 1911 - March 19, 2004
Mitchell Sharp, a fixture in Canadian politics and an an officer of the Order of Canada, died Friday, March 19, 2004, of cancer in Ottawa. He was 92.
Mitchell Sharp was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on May 11, 1911, and as a teen struggled to help the family pay its bills. He dropped out of school at 14 to earn money as a messenger, but eventually returned and got a BA from the University of Manitoba in his spare time. After graduating, in 1934, he pursued further studies there and then, helped by a wealthy benefactor, he spent a year at London School of Economics During that time, he worked as an economist and writer specializing in the grain trade.
Sharp started his long career in public service in 1947 when he was offered the job as the Director of the Ministry of Finance's Economic Policy Division. From 1951 to 1957, Sharp served as the Associate Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce. During his tenure, he was responsible for international trade relations. He served briefly as Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce before resigning from the public service in 1958 to take up an appointment as Vice-President of Brazilian Traction, Light and Power Company (a company that would become Brascan, one of the first Canadian-owned multinationals).
Sharp's political career began soon afterward when Pearson asked him to help create the Liberal party's election platform in the early 1960s. In 1963, Sharp was elected as a member of parliament representing Toronto's Eglinton riding. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned the portfolio of Minister of Trade and Commerce. From 1965 through 1968, Sharp was the Minister of Finance. This was a crucial period during which national medicare was born. Other ministerial positions held include Secretary of State for External Affairs (1968-1974), Deputy Prime Minister (1968-1974), President of the Privy Council (1974-1978) and Leader of Government of the House of Commons (1974-1978).
Behind all the political intrigue, Sharp suffered personal tragedy. His wife Daisy, whom he wed in 1938, was fighting an incurable disease that left her an invalid for years and killed her in 1975. They had one son. In 1976, a year after his first wife died, Sharp married Jeanette Dugal. She died in 1998 and Sharp married Jeanne d'Arc Labrecque two years later, when he was 89.
Sharp left politics for an appointment as commissioner for the Northern Pipeline Agency from 1978 until 1988. He also served as Co-Chairman of a Task Force on Conflict of Interest, which published a report on ethical conduct in the public service. Other posts included head of the Canadian group and deputy chairman of the Trilateral Commission (1976-1986). He then returned to the private sector as a Policy Associate with the think tank, Strategicon.
At 82, after a half-century of public service, Sharp signed on as a $1-a-year personal adviser to the new prime minister Chretien - a position he held until Dec. 11, 2003, the day before Paul Martin replaced Chretien as prime minister.
Music was extremely important to Sharp, (he played the piano) and in the last years of his life he devoted a lot of time to help the National Arts Centre and the National Arts Centre Orchestra under Pinchas Zuckerman.
On February 22, 2004, Mr. Sharp fell and broke his collarbone in his home. He was taken to Elizabeth Bruyere Health Centre, in Ottawa, where he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Sharp was then admitted to the palliative care unit of an Ottawa hospital.
A service was held in March in Ottawa, during which, The National Arts Centre Orchestra had some of their members - including Zuckerman
