Kevin PETERSON

PETERSON, Kevin Bruce
February 11, 1948 – March 31, 2016
Kevin Peterson, beloved husband of Sheila O'Brien, died Thursday, March 31, 2016.
The devastating symptoms of his esophageal cancer never dimmed his spirit, and he faced every difficult day with courage, grace and dignity. While his struggle was epic, his attitude was inspiring, and he was eternally grateful to the lovely community of caregivers who helped him, despite his suffering. We are indebted to our friend and family physician Dr Susan Lea Mackenny whose compassion and understanding helped us through this journey, and to our special nurse Maria Carcellar who gave us the gift of kind caring. We are also grateful to the devoted staff at Southwood Hospice who provided comfort to Kevin in his final days, with special thanks to Dr. Elaine Bland.
Kevin was born in Kitchener, Ontario, and moved to Calgary with his family as a young teenager. He fell in love with the big skies and the open attitudes of the West, and immediately became a committed Westerner. In high school, a gifted English teacher, Miss Moira Heggerty, ignited the spark of his passion for the written word, a passion that endured throughout his life.
He graduated from the University of Calgary where he started his journalism career as the editor of The Gauntlet. He joined the Calgary Herald as a junior reported right after university, and worked his way to the position of publisher in 1987, and was at the time the youngest publisher of a major market newspaper in Canada. He was also president of the Southam International news service while publisher of the Herald, and was a regular member of political panels on both radio and television. He was awarded the Harry Britten Commonwealth Journalism Fellowship in 1979, the Confederation Medal in 1992 and The Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005.
Kevin was a keen thoroughbred racing enthusiast, and took great pleasure from the Maltese Racing Stable, which he and Sheila operated for 19 years. He was a charter member of the 100 to 1 club in Arcadia, California.
Kevin had deep and abiding love of good fiction, in particular Canadian fiction. When the Giller prize was created in 1983, he was concerned that the Toronto based jury might not give due consideration to writers from the rest of the county, so convened a Shadow Giller jury in 1984. That jury mirrored the work of the real jury, and read and reviewed all the long listed books, and published their selection for the prize the day prior to the real jury's announcement. The Shadow Giller deliberated every year from 1983 to 2015.
In 2009, Kevin began his award winning literary blog KevinfromCanada, a pursuit which gave him great joy, and a rich community, helping him create a new reality after he lost his mobility and was confined to barracks for the last 10 years.
He was active in the volunteer sector of the community, particularly in theatre, literary organizations and organizations providing learning opportunities for immigrants and women at risk. He gave generously of both time and treasure, and frequently mentored young people needing a leg up to get started.
Besides his loving wife Sheila, Kevin is survived by his sisters Jane Saunders and Mary Peterson, his best friend Margaret Dorval, nephews Patrick (Cole), and Mac, nieces Susan (Eric) and Shannon and his faithful companion Lucy. He was inspired by the devotion of the Dorval and Denness families. Kevin was predeceased by his first wife Constance Bailey in 1975.
Funeral Services will be held at McINNIS & HOLLOWAY (Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive S.W. Calgary, AB) on Monday, April 4, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to 1000 Women Rising at Bow Valley College would be appreciated. (www.bowvalleycollege.ca/1KWR)
In living memory of Kevin Peterson, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park.