I received the news the day before I welcomed twenty-five high school teachers at the Archives & Special Collections (ASC) of Carleton University to introduce them to working in archives. We worked with the collection of lantern slides of the Christian missionary work of the pre-union Methodist and Presbyterian churches in South China John gave to ASC eight years ago. We also had boxes of the general fonds of his papers, about his Oxfam work, the making of his thesis, etc.

 

John was one of the most productive humanitarian veterans of the Canadian Network on Humanitarian History. He put many of us in contact with each other, attended events with curiosity and generosity. This led to a wonderful exhibit and event by and about Chilean exiles organised by his friend Leonore Leon José Venturelli Eade’s art exhibit at Carleton University (March 2018). The CNHH chronicled the moment John received a distinction: Canadian Veteran Humanitarian Honoured by Chilean Embassy of Ottawa (November 2016), helped along the project of archiving his work (New Additions to the John William Foster Fonds (November 2017); (re) published his piece on his friend George Cramm (George Cramm (1938-2018), Canadian Humanitarian: Veteran of the Latin American Working Group – (April 2018); assisted in the making of the Latin American Working Group (LAWG) library at CERLAC’s Resource Centre (March 2017).

 

I, and the members of the CNHH with me, will miss him immensely. We hope that, from our end, we can contribute to make sure that his work will be remembered, researched and rediscovered by all who work, like him, for justice and solidarity.

 

Dominique

 

Read the obituary published by the Globe and Mail.