Francis James McGilly

Francis J. McGilly - Frank to all - has died after a short final illness. He was 93. He is grieved and missed by his three children, four grandchildren, relatives, friends and acquaintances who were fortunate to know this good and gentle man.

Frank was born in Montreal in 1929. His father Francis and mother Hannah were immigrants to Canada, an Irishman who worked for 40 years in the CPR Angus railyard and a Scotswoman who cleaned houses in Westmount to help the family make ends meet through the Depression. The youngest of three children, Frank excelled as a student. The first in his family to go to university, he graduated in 1949 from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, of which he remained a proud and active alumnus for over 70 years.

After a brief stint as a school teacher, Frank returned to graduate school, obtaining a Master's degree in history from McGill University. A tour of duty as an officer in the Canadian Navy followed, including a memorable posting as a navigational instructor at Royal Roads in Victoria, British Columbia. After the Navy, Frank moved to Toronto to work at a public policy institute. It was there that he met Renée, newly arrived from the United Kingdom after completing her architecture degree. They were married in 1962, a union that endured for 53 years until Renée's death in 2015.

The newlyweds soon moved to Pennsylvania, where Frank began work on his PhD in public administration at the University of Pittsburgh. A daughter, Kate, was born there in 1963. Frank was recruited back to McGill to join the faculty of its School of Social Work, where he taught for 33 years, serving as Director at the end of his tenure.

Two sons, Kevin and Richard Adrian, were born in Montreal in 1965 and 1968, respectively. At a time when two-career families were still somewhat uncommon, Renée embarked on her architectural career with Frank's unwavering support and admiration for her talent and intelligence. By deed more than word, they set an example for their children and raised them to see a world without limits or predetermined roles.

Frank was an active, engaged and devoted parent. He persevered through homework tears, shuttled kids to music lessons and 6am hockey practices, played hours of chess and Monopoly, and supported his children's interests wherever they led. His more flexible academic schedule enabled him to supervise school breaks and summers while Renée worked. Together, they built a loving and richly stimulating family life, highlighted by a sabbatical year based in London but spent mostly crammed in a VW camper van touring Western Europe, a long cross-Canada camping trip to Victoria and back, summer vacations on lakes and shores, and two more sabbaticals.

At McGill, Frank was a committed teacher, respected administrator, well-loved colleague, and all-around absent-minded professor. His academic interests and scholarship focused on policy solutions to improve the delivery of public health and welfare services in Canada. His Introduction to Canada's Public Social Services was a widely-used textbook in Canadian universities. Pragmatic and moderate by nature, he saw both sides of most arguments and was more interested in incremental progress than ideological certainties.

The son of an Irish fiddler, Frank had a lifelong passion for music, especially classical and jazz, a love he sought to pass on to his children. There was always music on. His vast collection almost certainly included every single recording of the pianists Vladimir Horowitz and Oscar Peterson. A voracious reader, his other great love was the theater.

In 1998, Frank and Renée retired to Victoria, site of fond memories from Navy days. They moved into a sunny home with a beautiful garden in Oak Bay and began a long and very active retirement. Frank changed his LinkedIn profile to "Independent Entertainment Professional" and acted in countless plays with the Monterey Players, wrote program notes for the Chemainus Theatre Festival, and joined two Shakespeare groups. He played tennis until age 89 and enjoyed the occasional Manhattan. Frank and Renée travelled frequently and visited far-flung children and grandchildren, all of whom Frank regularly professed to find exceptional.

After Renée's death, Frank moved to Carlton House in Oak Bay. He continued acting, hosted family gatherings in Ireland and California, followed his beloved Habs, and attended St. F.X. reunions, where he enjoyed notoriety as one of its oldest living graduates. He donated generously to a wide range of causes, including gifts to his beloved McGill and St. F.X., where he established a bursary that enables students facing financial hardship to complete their studies.

The pandemic deprived him of most of the pleasures that sustained him, and his health and mobility declined. He faced the limitations of his final years in his matter-of-fact, uncomplaining way, until he left us, surrounded by his loving family, on February 6, 2023. He was cremated and his ashes were united with Renée's. The family will gather again this summer to honour his memory. He is survived by daughter Kate (John Long), sons Kevin (John Corea) and Adrian (Jennifer West), beloved grandchildren Dylan, Clara, Erica and Fiona, and niece Margaret. We will miss him forever.

The family wishes to express its gratitude to the attentive staff of Carlton House and the exceptional carers at Sunrise Assisted Living, who helped take care of Dad as a family member.

If so inclined, please donate in his memory to the McGilly Bursary at St. Francis Xavier University (www.stfx.ca/give - please direct to McGilly Bursary).