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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  • Portrait of Robert Fulford in suit and tie.

    1960s

    Robert Alan Fulford

    – MD’61

    Winter 2021

    Robert Alan Fulford died on Aug. 28, 2021. Robert was born in Windsor, Ont., on Sept. 10, 1936. He is survived by his wife Sharon Trent-Fulford, stepson Ian Trent, four children Dr. Susan Pacinda, Sean Fulford, Scott Fulford, Shelia Stein, and their spouses and children. Robert was a medical graduate from Queen’s University in 1961. He did post-graduate training at Kingston General Hospital and Montreal General Hospital, becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Canada in 1966. He practised in Montreal and Oshawa before moving to Houston in 1974 and starting practice at Kelsey-Seybold. He entered private practice in 1978, then joined Hopestar Orthopedic Group, later taken over by Baylor College of Medicine Orthopedic Group. His final years of practice were spent as a consultant.

  • Photo of Frederick George Fitzpatrick smiling at the camera while sitting at the bar

    1970s

    Frederick George FitzPatrick

    – BFA’78

    Winter 2021

    Frederick George FitzPatrick passed away at his home in Toronto on March 3, 2021. Frederick was a graduate of Frontenac Secondary School, Queen’s University, and the University of British Columbia (MFA). Fred had a passion for art in all forms, from sculpture to architecture, sketching pen and ink drawings to painting. Fred keenly studied art and architecture wherever he travelled, in Italy, Ireland, Morocco, Vietnam, Vancouver, and especially in his beloved city of Toronto. Although Fred began his career as a sculptor, he spent the last 33 years of his life
    working as a scenic painter with the American film industry (IATSE) in Toronto. He was predeceased by his parents, James Alexander and Margaret Layton FitzPatrick, and is survived by his cherished son Wesley James FitzPatrick, dear friend Heidi McLeod, brother Terrence James (Nancy), sister Gay Frances Keithly, nephews Adam and Ryan FitzPatrick, Sean Keithly and niece, Margo Keithly.

  • Photo of Arthur Cockfield leading against a wall at Queen's.

    1990s

    Arthur Cockfield

    – Law’93

    Winter 2021

    The Queen’s community is remembering Professor Arthur (Art) Cockfield, a highly esteemed and cherished teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend. Art died unexpectedly on Jan. 9, 2022, from an unsuspected heart condition. He was 54.

    Art was one of the world’s leading tax law scholars, a policy consultant, and an innovative instructor, serving most recently as Professor and Associate Dean (Academic Policy) in the Faculty of Law.

    “Art Cockfield has left an indelible imprint on laws and policies in Canada and around the world, as well as on the Queen’s Law community members near and far who’ve known him from student to professor,” says Dean Mark Walters (Law’89). “He was a main--stay of our law school, a loyal and dedicated teacher who cared deeply for his students, and a cherished mentor and friend to so many of us.”

    After completing his undergraduate studies at Western University, Art attended Queen’s Law, earning his LLB in 1993, and becoming involved in the Kingston community with Queen’s Legal Aid (QLA) as a student. He would later earn a Master of the Science of Law (JSM) and Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD) from Stanford University.

    Art returned to Queen’s as a faculty member in 2001 as a Queen’s National Scholar. With Queen’s Surveillance Studies Centre, he served on the Executive Board and was a co-investigator in several large-scale research projects. Among other appointments, he had been a Fulbright Visiting Chair in Policy Studies at the University of Texas at Austin and taught at the University of West Indies in Barbados.

    Art also served as a legal and policy consultant to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations, the Department of Justice, the Department of Finance, the Advisory Panel on Canada’s System of Inter-national Taxation, the National Judicial Institute, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

    Art was featured prominently in the media and legal sector as a pre-eminent authority on tax law, financial crime, e-commerce, privacy, and legal ethics. He shared his expertise and commitment to legal excellence with law students for over two decades. Former student Mark Cavdar (Law’13), says, “Professor Cockfield was a natural communicator, injecting everything he taught with his distinctive voice and humour. What made him unique for me was his candor, his utmost respect for and deference to the foundations of our common law, and his ability to dialogue with a room of aspiring lawyers in a language that they inherently understood.”

    Among Art’s surviving family members are his mother, Gale Clost Costen, and sons Arthur (Com’18), Jack, and William.

  • Portrait of Mary Ellen Beamish, looking to the right and smiling

    1950s

    Mary Ellen Beamish

    – BPHE’56, MEd’77

    Winter 2021

    Mary Ellen (Barr) Beamish, 87, passed away March 17, 2021, at Innisfree House, Kitchener. Mary Ellen, survived by her children: Sandra (Greg Hanmer), Susan (Kevin Goheen), Charles, and Stephen (Karen Temple-Beamish). Proud grandmother of Kaitlin, Sarah, Maryn (Matt Shanahan) and Paige Hanmer; Ben, Casey and Josh Goheen; and Megan (Kasper Podgorski) and Nic Beamish. Mary Ellen, loved by her brother George (deceased) (Peggy) Barr, sisters Margaret Ann (Ross) McFarlane and Alberta Jane (Bob, deceased) McNutt and their families. Mary Ellen is preceded in death by her husband Charles (Chuck) Brouse Beamish. Mary Ellen was a true educator, spending more than 35 years as a teacher, principal, and superintendent within the Northumberland Newcastle/Kawartha Pine Ridge District school board. In addition, she enjoyed golfing, curling, and admiring sunsets at her homes on Moore Lake and in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

  • 1940s

    Bruce Hamilton

    – BSc'43

    Fall 2021

    Bruce died on Apr. 2, aged 101. He was predeceased by his first wife Victoria (nee Scott), second wife June (nee Moulton), and grandson Timothy Robert Hamilton. Bruce is survived by his six children; Harold "Scott", Sc’69, Robert (Julie), Elizabeth, Arts’71 (Larry), John (Patricia), Christine (Bill) and Michael (Susan); his 18 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren. Born and raised in Hamilton, Bruce worked during the summers at The Steel Company of Canada (Stelco) in Hamilton, while enrolled in the Pre-Engineering program at McMaster University and the Engineering program at Queen's University. Graduating as an Engineer in Metallurgy from Queen's in 1943, Bruce embarked on a successful career in the steel industry. He was known for his zest for life and enjoyed watching the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, going to the cottage, and listening to music. Bruce maintained strong connections to the city of Hamilton through his involvement in Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, McMaster University and the Hamilton Golf and Country Club. He touched many lives throughout his life and he will be missed. 

  • 1940s

    Bernard Fisher Trotter

    – MA'48

    Fall 2021

    Bernard Fisher Trotter died on Nov. 5. He is survived by his wife, Jean, his children, Rex, Arts '73, and daughter-in-law Eliza, Victoria Vaghy, B. Mus '75, B. Ed '77, and son-in-law Tibor (retired assistant professor Queen's Music Department), his brother Hale, Arts '52, MA'53 (Mathematics), seven grandchildren including Marie, MA '19 (English), and four great-grandchildren. Bernard's father, Reginald George Trotter, was head of the Queen's History Department until he died in 1951. Born in 1924 in Palo Alto, California, Bernard grew up in Kingston. He graduated from McMaster University in 1945. In 1946-47, he attended Lorne Greene's Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before receiving his MA from Queen's in 1948. He joined the CBC as Assistant Talks Producer in Winnipeg in 1948 and then served in New York as CBC representative at the UN in 1950-51. After attending the National Defense College in 1951-52, and subsequently heading the English Language Section of the CBC International Service, in 1954 he moved to London, England, as CBC European representative. In 1957 he returned to Canada as supervisor of CBC Television Public Affairs in Toronto, becoming General Supervisor of the Public Affairs Television and Radio from 1960 to 1963. In 1963 he left the CBC to join Queen's University as Executive Assistant to the Principal. While at Queen's, he worked with the Committee of Presidents of Ontario Universities to develop a funding system for Ontario universities. He was Head of Academic Planning from 1968 to 1981, authoring several papers on education. While at Queens he also served on the CBC Board of Directors from 1975 to 1980. He was special assistant to the Principal from 1981 and was awarded a Queen's Distinguished Service Award by the University Council upon retirement in 1988. Bernard was a longtime supporter of Queen’s, a gentleman of kindness and generosity, carrying to the last thanks and smiles for anyone attending to his needs and always expressing concern that others take care of themselves first. Read the full obituary for Bernard