Edward Wallace MCFARLANE

EDWARD WALLACE MCFARLANE 82, passed away on May 21, 2019 at the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital following a brief illness. He was a thoughtful and loving person, and he will be missed greatly by his wife of 56 years, Grace (Toguri); his children David, Jane (Donna), Scott (Monika and daughter Olivia); and many close friends. Ed was born in East York, ON, the son of Doug McFarlane and Sibyl (McLean) McFarlane, and he was raised by his grandmother, Blanche (Bell) McLean, in The Beach area of Toronto. He graduated from Malvern High School in 1954 and attended the University of Toronto, receiving a master's degree in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics before taking teaching positions in Toronto, Oshawa and at Porter Collegiate and Cedarbrae Collegiate in Scarborough. Ed loved teaching and became increasingly interested in alternative ways of learning. He was especially interested in the history of County Schools in rural Ontario and their use of peer teaching; and he contributed to a calculus textbook and authored a geometry course book that brought the learning of problem solving skills to the foreground, as opposed to the learning of symbolic manipulations. He finished his teaching career at Alternative Scarborough Education II (ASEII). Ed grew up with a keen awareness of social and economic inequality, and was politically active throughout his life supporting many causes, often in conjunction with the New Democratic Party. He also coached basketball teams at Porter and Cedarbrae Collegiate and enjoyed ice dancing at the University Skating Club in Toronto and later the Beaver Valley Skating Club. In his retirement, he regularly attended Tai Chi classes at Fung Loy Kok Institute in Collingwood. Ed's final wishes were for his ashes to be scattered in the forest surrounding the home he and Grace designed in Ravenna, ON. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 1st. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice.