Peter Colin DOBELL

1927 - 2020

PETER COLIN DOBELL In Ottawa, on December 18, 2020, having lived a full and rewarding life. Survived by Jane (Matthews), his wife and co-adventurer for sixty-nine years. And by his son Colin, daughter-in-law Gail (Hughson), and grandson Reid. Born March 31, 1927, the eldest son of Sydney Hope Dobell and Mary Macintosh of Montreal, he was predeceased by his brother William and cousin Anthony Dobell, but is survived by his cousin Colin Dobell. At Selwyn House and Trinity College School, he played soccer, hockey and ran track. Graduating from University of Toronto (Trinity College) in 1949 with a degree in History, he then completed a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at New College, Oxford in 1952. Peter always said that he decided to become a diplomat when he was eleven. Summers during his university years were spent in France and Germany in the immediate aftermath of the war. He entered the Department of External Affairs in 1952, serving in Prague (1954-7) and at the Canadian Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1960-5. In 1968, in a move he later admitted was riskier than he understood, he founded the Parliamentary Centre, an organization with which he was involved for the rest of his working life. Initially focused on supporting parliamentary committees in their analysis, consensus-building and report-drafting activity, the Centre gradually developed expertise in the practice of parliamentary democracy, working around the world. He also piloted innovative programs designed to expand the perspectives of members of parliament so that they could be more effective, including exchanges between members of parliament and members of US Congress, private industry, and government bureaucracy. Peter also served as secretary of the Canadian delegation to the Trilateral Commission and of the Institute for Research on Public Policy. He was honoured to receive the Order of Canada in 1991 and an honorary doctorate at Trinity College in 2003. Peter was a builder. He erected a modernist home in Ottawa, cottages on Lake Eda outside Ottawa and on Georgian Bay, followed by 8 houses near Eda that he rented to friends over many years. He dammed two valleys to create lakes which these cottages overlooked. Later, he ventured into community building, founding a cooperative of cottage-owners called Peterswood that outlives him. Throughout his life, he also built and nurtured a worldwide web of friendships that were very important to him. He loved the outdoors. Cross-country skiing trips, trail cutting, tapping trees in the maple syrup bush, canoe trips, sailing, fishing and hiking in the Rockies, and the gatherings that accompanied these activities, were where he connected most happily with his family and friends. His many trips abroad with Jane were usually combined with walking or hiking. His family wishes to thank the staff at The Edinburgh in Ottawa that cared for him at the end. A celebration of life will be held when COVID allows it. In the meantime, in lieu of flowers, donations in honour of Peter's name may be made to the Ottawa Food Bank.