Maurice John COLSON

1942 - 2021

MAURICE "Moe" JOHN COLSON 1942 - 2021 Maurice Colson, known to his family and friends as Moe, died in Toronto on March 26th after a relatively short struggle with cancer. He was 78. He is survived by his wife Kumari, the love of his life, his two children from an earlier marriage, Kathryn Colson Hammond of Connecticut and Sean Colson of North Carolina, his grandchildren Luke and Laurel Hammond, and his brother Daniel (Suzanne) and his two nephews, Charles Colson and Timothy Colson who adored their uncle. Moe also leaves Kumari's wonderful parents, her two brothers, Anil and Anup, and their lovely families who have always been tremendously supportive of Moe and Kumari, especially during Moe's illness. Maurice was born in Montreal, the eldest of two sons of Kathleen Burke and Philip Colson. Their mother died very young and Moe helped his father bring up his younger brother who didn't always appreciate having his older brother as his surrogate mother; however, by the time they were in their teens, they became each other's greatest fan and friend to the end. In spite of their strong Irish heritage, Moe's father had the foresight to see the advantage of learning French and moved the family to a French-speaking neighbourhood in Montreal where both boys became fluently bilingual. Although Maurice later moved to Toronto, he remained a Montrealer at heart and always looked for any excuse to spend time in Montreal and the Eastern Townships. Maurice was a star athlete, playing football in high school and then on the championship-winning varsity foorball team at Loyola College. Moe was also an enthusiastic squash player as well as a keen skier, initially in the Laurentians and later in Europe. In his final year at Loyola, Maurice and two friends went to a Benedictine monastery in the Eastern Townships to isolate and supposedly study for their final exams; notwithstanding Moe's difficulty in adapting to monastic life for even one week, he remained a devout Catholic all his life and always tried to attend Mass wherever it was being said in Latin with Gregorian chant which he loved. After graduating from Loyola College, Maurice earned an MBA at McGill and then studied Economics at Oxford University where he acquired a lifelong love of England and Europe. He described his time at Oxford as the best two years of skiing of his life, spending a lot of time in the resorts of France and Switzerland, even though he was eking out an existence as a student at the time. Moe's first major job was as director of the Olympic Coin Program for the 1976 Montreal Games. After that, he moved to Toronto and went into the investment business where he had a very successful career with a number of investment firms including First Marathon Securities of which he was one of the original partners; some years later, Moe ran the Richardson Greenshields office in London. For many years, he also worked as an independent investment banker raising funds for various companies including mining projects around the world and was an active and conscientious director of many companies over the years. Travelling was Moe Colson's greatest passion, especially with his wife Kumari. He would never hesitate to fly to Europe to ski, holiday or work or to Hong Kong or London to visit his brother who lives there. In later years, Italy and its food were a major attraction. Unfortunately, there will be no funeral service at this time because of COVID-19 restrictions but it is hoped a memorial service can take place at some point this summer at St. Patrick's Basilica in Montreal. If you would care to make a charitable donation in Moe's memory, please make a donation to the charity of your choice or to Dunham House (1964 Scottsmore Road, Dunham, Qc., J0E 1M0., www.dunhamhouse.ca). Dunham House is a registered Canadian charity founded by Moe's brother that operates a residential facility in the Eastern Townships for people suffering from mental health issues and concurrent disorders.