Ross HOWARD

HOWARD, Ross Kenneth
July 7, 1946 – June 8, 2017
Ross died peacefully at Cottage Hospice in Vancouver after a 7-year battle with Multiple Myeloma. He leaves behind his loving wife of 34 years Peggy Heath, his sisters Carol (Greg Bryan) and Barbara (Bob Francis), six nieces and nephews and numerous loving and supportive friends. A keen outdoorsman, Ross loved kayaking, canoeing, skiing and spending a few weeks each year at the family cottage in Muskoka. It was one of the reasons the health of the environment was often a theme in much of his work and personal passions. He travelled the world with his work as a journalist and journalism trainer as well as on many personal trips. Born in Toronto, he grew up in Orangeville, Ontario. A graduate of York University in Toronto, Ross served for more than 25 years as a reporter for the Toronto Telegram, The Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. At the Globe, Ross worked as a national reporter out of Toronto, in the paper's Parliamentary Bureau in Ottawa, and ultimately in the Vancouver bureau. In Vancouver, Ross launched a new phase in his career as a much respected journalism instructor at Langara College. At the same time, he ventured into the training of journalists in developing countries as the co-founder and chair of the Media and Democracy Group. Ross was a pioneer in what has been dubbed "Peace Journalism". As part of that effort, he authored several manuals, handbooks and model curricula sponsored by UNESCO and the development assistance agencies of Canada, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Over the length of his career Ross won numerous journalism awards including two Jack Websters. More recently, Ross wrote often and commented about the future of journalism and the news media industry. He was one of the best of his generation and will continue to inspire his profession – and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him – through The Ross Howard Fund. To honour Ross's life and legacy, donations may be made to www.vancouverfoundation.ca/rosshoward. Celebrations of Ross's life will be held at the Faculty Lounge, Langara College in Vancouver on Wednesday, July 19 at 3:30 p.m. and in Orangeville, Ontario in mid-September.