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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  • 1960s

    Kenneth Douglas Does

    – BSc’63

    Fall 2022

    Kenneth Douglas Does passed away on April 26, 2021. He was liked and loved by many, and missing him most will be his wife of almost 60 years, Sharon, as well as his daughter, Karon (Joe); son, Mark (Liz); and granddaughter, Carmen.

    Doug, as he was known to everyone, was born to Dutch immigrants in Ontario and grew up a car and technology enthusiast. He graduated a Tricolour Award winner from Queen’s with an electrical engineering degree and went on to a successful career spanning both private industry and public service. He was passionate about business and studied and taught many aspects of quality management, which eventually took him to western Canada.

    And as hard as he worked, he played. His carpentry skill, combined with his love of trains, produced some magnificent basement model railroads. When he turned on music, it was most often an artist he had discovered at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, where he spent many happy summer days. He loved sports and coached his kids in a variety of them, but hockey (Go Oilers!) was always his favourite. He cheered to the end, battling esophageal cancer, with courage and dignity. He was a good man. The family wishes to extend gratitude to the many Ontario healthcare workers for their kindness and professionalism in helping Doug.

  • Photo of a man wearing a beret, glasses, and a jean shirt. His arms are folded in front of him with his chin resting on a hand.

    2010s

    William Cockrell

    – MA’18

    Fall 2022

    William Cockrell passed away on Aug. 10. He was 30. He is deeply missed by his fiancée, Mira Dineen (Artsci’12); father, Robert Cockrell; mother, Elizabeth Rankin; sister, Stefanie Papasoff; brother, James Cockrell; and extended family and friends.

    "My sense of the holy is bound up with the hope that someday my remote descendants will live in a global civilization in which love is pretty much the only law" — Richard Rorty, American philosopher.

    William was born on Nov. 4, 1991 in New York City. From a young age, he was precocious, bright, exuberant, and kind-hearted. Will's dad, Bob, had a profound influence on Will’s passion for philosophy and his hunger for knowledge. His childhood nanny, Maria Rodriguez, was a source of lifelong love and nurturing. His mother, Elizabeth, cultivated his interests in music and history. Will and his brother James connected over video games and shared humour; he and his sister, Stefanie, bonded over camping and their dog, Blitz.

    Will was cherished for his bright intellect and his deep capacity for empathy. Will moved to Canada to find his path and thrived in academia. He studied philosophy at King’s University College at Western University, graduating with honours. He went on to complete a Master of Arts in Political Science at Queen’s University. Will was an outlaw philosopher. He had a unique ability to weave together disparate threads of philosophy into a mosaic manifesto of his own. Will would spit bars of Tupac, quote Richard Rorty, reference Greek mythology, and then cite the Bhagavad Gita within minutes. He drew wisdom and insight from art, television, and film. He didn’t discriminate in his quest to understand the human experience.

    Will is dearly missed by his fiancée, Mira. They were building their life together on the West Coast, planning their wedding, and hoped to travel to Japan before growing their family. It is a tragedy that their deep, twin-flame love story was cut so short. She will always love and miss him.

    Since Will’s untimely death, there has been an outpouring of grief at the loss of such a gentle, loving man. With Richard Rorty's teachings as his guide, Will held deep convictions that the world needs a moral education that centralizes empathetic love. If each of us could emulate Will’s capacity for love and empathy, the world would surely arrive at a state worthy of his deepest admiration. May we all find and seize opportunities to do so, in his memory.

  • 1980s

    Susan Brooke

    – BCom’88

    Fall 2022

    Susan Brooke passed away on April 7, 2022. She was 56. She is survived by husband Jan Trabandt and brother Peter Brooke. She was predeceased by her parents, Keith and Molly Brooke; and will be dearly missed by her cousins both near and far, and her many close friends.

    Susan was born and raised in Ottawa where she attended Fisher Park High School. In 1988, she received a bachelor of commerce degree from Queen’s. After working a few years in Paris, she returned to Canada and received an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University in 1996.

    Moving to Toronto, she enjoyed a successful career in strategic consulting for Bain & Company, Managerial Design, and later as an executive in risk management at TD Bank. She was an intelligent, hardworking, and accomplished colleague who brought much to the roles she took on. She also contributed her time generously to the Genetic Aortic Disorders Association, the Toronto General Hospital’s Patient Advocacy Committee, and the strategic planning committee for her golf community in Florida.

    A skilled communicator, she could cut to the essence of a problem with great deftness, wit, and occasionally the well-timed use of an f-bomb, if the circumstances warranted.

    Susan’s bright smile, welcoming ways and compassionate heart brought her many dear friends, made while living in Toronto, Punta Cana, Florida, and Collingwood, Ont. She had a way of gathering people around her and creating communities among them. Susan was also a traveler, curious about the world and the experiences that she and Jan might find in distant places, especially if they could be enjoyed in 5-star style. A round of golf, a glass of wine and laugh or two with friends to cap it all was a day well spent.

    Allergies could not prevent her from sharing her life with her beloved (and supposedly hypoallergenic!) cats Zoe and Zorro. Her love for all cats anywhere also led her to contribute time to animal welfare organizations in Toronto and the Dominican Republic before joining the Georgian Triangle Humane Society in Collingwood as a shelter volunteer, fosterer of kittens and member of its board of directors.

  • Woman wearing a white hat with satin and tulle flower on it.

    1990s

    Annamaria Bamji

    – BA’98, MA’05

    Fall 2022

    Annamaria Bamji passed away on Dec. 27, 2020. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Pervez (Perry) J.  Bamji.

    Annamaria was a patron of the arts – both visual and performing –, a keen volunteer with several organizations, and a philanthropist. Amongst other activities, she was an avid collector of hats and caps — last count she had 45!

    Her most recent work, a book entitled Veni, Vidi, Vici, which was posthumously published in August 2021, was a result of Annamaria’s research on Italians who migrated to Victoria during the Gold Rush of mid-1850s.

  • 1990s

    David Andrew

    Fall 2022

    David Andrew passed away in February 2022.

    David was born in Redruth, U.K., in 1934, trained at the Falmouth School of Art and then at the Slade School in London from 1958-9. At that time he was greatly influenced by Ben Nicholson, (who showed interest in his work) and Piet Mondrian, and it was also then that he first became interested in the psychology of perception. Following his student days, David taught at the Bournemouth and Portsmouth Colleges of Art, moving to Queen’s in 1971 and retiring in 1995. He was instrumental in shaping the national reputation and direction of the department with his colleagues during this period. In 2004, Andrew returned to Cornwall U.K. where he married Sally Fleetwood in 2010.

  • 1950s

    Rev. Dr. Douglas Harry Ross

    – Arts’56, BDiv’57, DDiv'82

    Summer 2022

    Rev. Dr. Douglas Harry Ross passed away on Nov. 6, 2021, in London, Ont. He was 93. He is survived by his wife, Helen Ross (nee Ferguson) (Arts’54); daughters, Jennifer Burnside, Mary-Janet Ross, and Elizabeth Phoenix; and six grandchildren. He lived his early years on the Ross family farm north of Belleville, Ont. At 15, he quit school and became an electrician and farmer. Doug returned to school and, in 1952, enrolled at Queen’s to become a minister. In 1953, Doug began student ministry outside of Perth, Ont. That spring, Helen and Doug met on the bus heading to Kingston, since Helen was also at Queen’s. Helen and Doug were married for 66 years. Doug was a United Church minister in Schefferville, Que., Ottawa, and London, Ont. He was an ordained minister for 65 years and was active in the national church. Doug was president of London Conference and was appointed executive secretary of the conference until his retirement in 1992. Education was important to Doug, and his formal education continued throughout his life. Doug completed his Master of Theology in 1972 and a PhD in theology in 1982 — both from St. Paul’s University in Ottawa. He was also honoured in 1982 with an honorary doctorate (DDiv’82) from Queen’s Theological College for his efforts with the faculty and as a major fundraiser. Doug has left a legacy, and the importance of education has carried on with his grandchildren and their university degrees.