Frank Henderson Logan

Beloved husband of Linda May Hermitage Logan, and father of Frank Daniel Hermitage Logan and James Stuart Logan, Frank was born in Dorval, PQ on May 19, 1936 to Duncan and Mabel Logan (née Henderson). His early life was marked by his love of the outdoors. An avid sportsman, hunter and fisherman, Frank tended a Victory Garden during World War II and mailed produce to families in the United Kingdom. He practiced piano (which he hated) with his sisters Judy Manning and Janet Walker (whom he loved). As a teenager, he had hunted in the woods of Quebec with his school friends, often staying out overnight with a tent and sleeping roll. He was a diligent and hard-working student with an aptitude for mathematics. It was this quality which helped him secure an academic scholarship to Princeton University in 1953. Some of the happiest days of Frank’s life were spent at Princeton, where, in addition to excelling academically, he embraced the fiction of Ernest Hemingway, was a member of the Ivy Club, and played for the Princeton hockey team in each of his four years at the university. In the summer months away from university, he worked as part of a survey team, participating in three geological exploration expeditions in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic. Many stereotypes were reinforced when he reported one week late to class in September, having been snowbound in northern Canada.

Frank graduated from Princeton with an A.B. in Economics in 1957, and soon thereafter joined Dominion Securities. It was the start of a 24-year career in investment banking that would lead Frank across Canada and all over the world, including a brief, but memorable, look behind the Iron Curtain in Marshall Tito’s Yugoslavia. The career appealed to his energetic work ethic, and to his sense of infinite possibility governed by finite resources. He applied himself with vigour, building close relationships with clients and contributing to the development of the firm through a series of successful Merger and Acquisition transactions. In due course, he became what was, at that time, the youngest Partner in the history of Dominion Securities. Eventually, Frank would hold many Executive responsibilities, culminating with his service as Chairman of the Board at Dominion Securities beginning in 1978.

Frank was elected Vice-Chairman and Director of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1981, and so began the second chapter of his career in Finance. For the next fifteen years, he continued to play a leading role in the development of Canadian business on behalf of the CIBC. During this period, he served in a variety of Directorships, including with Trizec Corporation, Dofasco Inc., and Upper Lakes Group Inc. The final chapter of Frank’s distinguished career came in service of the Canadian engineering giant Hatch Associates Ltd. Operating as Managing Director, Frank traveled extensively through Australia and South Africa, where he developed a love for the wide vistas and for the people he met and with whom he conducted business.

Frank gave his time generously to the community, serving on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce over a period of many years, and eventually becoming First Vice Chairman of the Board. He was, for many years, an active member of the York Club and the Toronto Club. And, following his passions, he became a Director of Ducks Unlimited (Canada) and a member of the Board of Governors of McMaster University.

Notwithstanding his many achievements in corporate life, Frank’s family life remained his focal point. He was fortunate to marry Linda Hermitage in 1962. Together Linda and Frank raised two boys. With his family, he shared his love of the outdoors. During the spring, summer and fall, the Logans could be found fishing and hunting at the Goodwood Club with their black labs Pete, and later Duff. Frank dearly loved his dogs. In the winter, downhill and cross-country skiing predominated. Frank introduced his children to the joys of salmon fishing on the Restigouche River in New Brunswick and Quebec, and to fly fishing on the Madison River in Montana and at Henrys Fork in Idaho. In the 1980s, he bought a hobby farm near Markdale, Ontario and operated it vigorously, wryly observing that, no matter what he planted or how hard he worked, he was never able to generate a profit and his primary produce seemed always to be rocks. Sadly, Frank suffered a stroke in 2006 shortly after his retirement. While he was fortunate to have been treated quickly, the stroke affected his balance and reduced his capacity to engage in his beloved outdoor activities. He continued to fish for many years, including a memorable salmon fishing excursion to the York River in Gaspé, Quebec with one of his grandchildren in 2016. The promise of a future fishing trip was never far from his mind, even as his health deteriorated.

Frank was direct and genuine; he was confident and supported a strong bias to action. The relationships he forged were the foundation of his life. He will be deeply missed by his wife and sons, as well as by his four grandsons. In particular, the Logan family would like to thank the caregivers who helped ease and comfort him in his declining years, most especially Jackie, Kingsley and Hilda. Our thanks also extend to the Palliative Care Unit at North York General Hospital, especially to Dr D Grossman and to Sarah Yip for their compassion and care. For those who wish to honor Frank, donations to the North York General Hospital Foundation would be gratefully appreciated.