Peter CROYDON

1924 - 2019

PETER CROYDON September 2, 1924 - December 13, 2019 Peacefully in Limoges, France, aged 95, with his wife and stepson at his side. Loving husband of Zena Croydon. Beloved father of Monika and Janek Croydon (Ellen McRae), and grandfather of Melanie, Tobias, Evan and Amelia. Dear stepfather of Zygmunt (Ziggy) and Vanya and step-grandfather of Nathan and Maddy. Peter Alan Croydon was born near the town of Croydon in Surrey, England. He learned about photography from his grandfather, Harry Buckland, who had a successful studio in Woolwich. In 1941, during the Second World War, he joined the Royal Air Force as a photographer. He met his first wife, Lilka, in London after the war, and they emigrated to Toronto in 1948, where their children were born. He achieved recognition and success as one of the top commercial and editorial photographers in Canada during the late 1940s to the 1970s. His work appeared in Chatelaine, Maclean's, Canadian Art, Mayfair and other magazines. His portrait subjects included Pierre Trudeau and his family, and prominent Canadian artists, including Harold Town and Painters 11. He also contributed to the work of the National Film Board's Stills Division. In addition to many Art Directors Club of Toronto awards, he received the Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators (CAPIC) Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988 and was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In the late 1970s he remarried, and with his second wife moved to the United States. In 2017 they moved to Eymoutiers, France, where he spent his final years. Despite the distances separating him from his family, he remained a loving father and grandfather, and will always be in our hearts. A private cremation has taken place in Eymoutiers, and a memorial and scattering will be held on the Surrey Downs in spring.