Ewart Reid

REID, Ewart Percival After a brief illness, Ewart Reid passed away at the General Hospital in Ottawa on June 15, 2005, at age 94. Active and interested in life until three weeks before, he faced his last days courageously, and had a good relationship with his caregivers. He is survived by his son Malcolm and wife Rejeanne Cyr of Quebec City, and by his son Ian and partner Andrea Murphy, who were with him at the end. Ewart was the son of John Addison Reid and Alma (Crispin) Reid. Born in 1910 in Regina, he grew up in Toronto and Montreal. He received his B.A. and M.A. in economics from McGill, studying with Stephen Leacock, and later studied at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. His master's studies took him to a Doukhobor community in western Canada, and he recounted their lifeways in his thesis. His early career was with the Department of Agriculture in Ottawa, and a second career took shape with the U.N.'s World Food Program. This took him to Rome, New Delhi and Ankara, where he organized the distribution of food to workers on building projects in developing nations, as well as food aid for disaster relief. Ewart had two granddaughters, Nadine Spidla of Vancouver, and Joelle Reid of Toronto. Doing field work in Peru, Joelle said: "Ewart had a sense of adventure, so he understood mine." Ewart was a lifelong socialist and supported the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from its beginnings. He was also a sports enthusiast, with a longstanding commitment to the Habs and Expos. During his studies at McGill in the 1930s, Ewart met and married Charlotte Clare of St. Andrews, Manitoba. They were together for 25 years, and raised their sons in Westboro. They separated in 1960. Afterwards, Ewart married Dorothy Moxley of Ottawa, who went with him on postings in India and Turkey. She died in 1975. Ewart later married Seval Unan of Ankara, Turkey, who survives him. He is also missed by the Moxley families of Ottawa and Almonte. Ewart was predeceased by siblings Howard Reid of Montreal, Margaret Talbot of Lachine, and Eleanor Gibbard of Morgantown, West Virginia. He had eight nieces and nephews: Kenneth, Carolyn and Denny Reid; David, Peter and Lucy Talbot; and Alan and Sarah Gibbard. Friends and colleagues are invited to remember Ewart on what would have been his 95th birthday, on Wed., July 6, at 2 P.M. at a gathering at Beechwood Cemetery, Sir Sandford Fleming Room.