FRANK McENANEY

With profound sadness we announce the passing of Frank Winspear McEnaney, on January 4, 2026, from complications of treatment for melanoma. Skier, scholar, playwright, house-husband, meditator, wood carver, beloved to Gillian; precious Dad to Galen, (Mary) Taliesin (Coire) and Risa (Nic); and adorable Grandad to Iliamna. Frank was born in Toronto to Marjorie and Vincent McEnaney. Childhood was wild in the 1950s; wandering the ravines, hitchhiking across Canada, and surviving Catholic school. While attending U of T in the 1960s, he met his first wife, Kirsten Ward, and spent the 1970s working as a writer and playwright in Toronto, while also leading the pack as house-husband supreme. For his second act, in the mid 1980s, Frank moved into a converted schoolhouse on Blue Mountain with his beloved Gillian and proceeded to lead a life of joyful discipline. His days were constructed into 15-minute intervals of music, meditation, writing, wood carving, hiking, drawing, partner dancing, wood stacking, cooking, and dishes. He did a set of Tai Chi almost every morning for over 40 years, hiked the entirety of the Bruce Trail from Niagara to Tobermory three times in his 70s, and he memorized enough poetry to recite a poem a day for an entire year. In his words, he was a man with "extreme discipline for purposeless activities." His connection and collaboration with Gillian was profound. They wrote, danced, hiked and lived together in uncommon harmony. In his last years, applying his famous discipline to anti-war activism, they protested monthly at their Collingwood MP's office against the Canadian government purchase of the F-35 fighter jets. As a dad, his kids hit the jackpot; loving, steadfast, trusting, hilarious, inspiring. We never had to grasp for his love, he shared it in so many different ways. Tea and chats were gold standard; highly opinionated, intellectually curious, and delightfully eccentric. His company will be forever missed, but his memory will never cease to inspire. "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep" - WS A Memorial Service will be held at L.E Shore Library, in Thornbury, on Saturday, January 17th, at 2 p.m. All are invited. If you wish to remember Frank with a donation, his passions were anti-war activism with worldbeyondwar.org/canada/ and the Bruce Trail Conservancy at brucetrail.org. To share condolences or stories online, please visit www.fawcettfuneralhomes.com.