John Gilbert, 1921-2006, former MP, judge dies

It is with sad and deep regret that the family of John Gilbert announces his passing.

Gilbert was an MP for 13 years in Toronto, and then a judge for 15.

He represented what is now the BroadviewGreenwood riding, and was the first in a line of NDP winners there, including Bob Rae and Jack Layton.

He passed away Sunday, Aug. 7 at 1:15 a.m. at Toronto General Hospital.

John was predeceased by his wife Nora, eight weeks ago. They were married for 61 years. He leaves behind three children: John of Caledon, Gwen, and Peter, along with seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

His is a rare story of triumph, achievement, dedication and unwavering love that transcends everyday lives.

The Honourable Justice John Gilbert, known as Jack to his friends, lived the type of life that is usually reserved for romantic story lines and Hollywood plots.

Born into a poor Irish Protestant family, his parents left County Cork to escape the religious persecution of their Protestant neighbours for having too many Catholic friends.

The family emigrated to Toronto, where John was born, the youngest of five children.

He grew up with two brothers and two sisters in the inner city around Christie Pits. The siblings found comfort and excitement at the ball park where, not having enough money to attend one of the old Maple Leaf baseball games, they'd scramble to grab a ball hit out of the park that they could sell it and get enough money to get into a future game.

He sold papers at the corner of Yonge and Bloor; two cents apiece. He delighted in showing his kids how he would take the paper, slap it on his leg to fold it in half and half again, snap it under the purchaser's arm, and hold out his hand for payment in one fluid motion. He then set out, along with his brother Arthur, to establish a paper route that covered most of his downtown neighbourhood.

John himself was an outstanding athlete. He knew and competed against the Conacher brothers, Lionel and Charlie, in his youth on the city playgrounds. As a pitcher, he led his baseball team to a couple of city championships.

He attended Jarvis Collegiate, where he played several varsity sports. Later on at the University of Toronto he earned the honour of being captain of the varsity hockey team. As his children and grandchildren got older, nothing gave him more enjoyment than seeing the youngsters participate in their own hockey, baseball or football games. Up until he could barely walk, he still enjoyed getting down to a Jays game.

As mentioned earlier, John grew up in poverty. It was hard for his own dad to get a steady, well-paying job so he left school to help support his family. John and his brothers would follow the horse-drawn coal wagons to pick up pieces of coal that fell off to heat the family dwelling. His family eventually lost their Pears Ave. house to a mortgage foreclosure in the depths of the Depression.

After a couple of years working in a paper box factory, someone at his work urged him to return to school where he earned his law degree. His wife, Nora, put him through university by working full-time as a secretary and manager's assistant at a British car dealership. Upon graduation, he went to work for a large law firm but soon left when he felt the rates they charged their clients were outrageous (imagine that!).

He set out to practice on his own where he represented the less fortunate and

needy in our society. Pro bono work for the Salvation Army earned him a loyal following if not exactly a huge salary. But money and material goods where not the huge attraction to John that we see with many people today. He said when he started practicing law that any money he earned over $5,000 each year he would give away.

As a practicing lawyer he argued several cases in front of the Supreme Court.

He met and married Nora Law, who had moved to Toronto from Huntsville.

Nora too, had been from a needy family as her father, a lumberjack, had been killed when she was two months old, leaving her mother to raise six young children on her own.

Together they found the strength to succeed as a loving couple.

To make an even greater contribution, John entered politics and ran as a federal candidate for the NDP. He was unsuccessful in his first attempt in 1963, but in 1965 he won the seat in the riding of Riverdale, which had been Conservative since 1867. He proudly proclaimed that it was just hard work as he and Nora had knocked on every door in the riding.

And they did this in every one of his five successful campaigns. The riding is now called BroadviewGreenwood. Bob Rae followed

dies John into federal parliament in the riding, and it is now held by NDP leader Jack Layton.

He never stopped talking about Nora's contribution in raising the family while he spent 13 years in Ottawa. During that time he was a caucus member with Tommy Douglas, Stanley Knowles, David Lewis and Ed Broadbent.

During the 13 years he was an MP, he spent time at the United Nations with Pierre Trudeau where the two developed an admiration and respect for each other. He had many interesting stories to tell, including the time he and Nora along with another couple were heading to a black-tie affair with the Queen. Their old car broke down and they were forced to hitch-hike. When a farmer stopped in his pickup to give them a ride, the two women sat in the front while John and the other MP got in the back where they sat on a bale of hay.

Imagine the sight as they showed up at the Parliament Buildings brushing the straw off their gowns and tuxedos!

When John had felt he had had enough of the commuting back and forth to Ottawa and wanted to return home to Toronto, he accepted an appointment in 1978 as a judge to the District Court of Ontario where he remained until his retirement in 1993.

He heard his cases and regaled his family and friends with his experiences during his 15 years on the bench.

John and Nora both gave selflessly of themselves and always had an open door for people in need. They believed that nothing was more important than trying to make it a better world for others to enjoy.

Even vacations could be an opportunity to help others. A family Christmas vacation in the 1960s could be spent at an interracial commune known as Koinonia, in Americus, Georgia. This was started by a Baptist minister named Clarence Jordan as a way to help blacks in the south. During this time of civil rights conflict the commune was subject to racial persecution, to the point where their fruit stands and homes were bombed and burned.

Other holidays could be spent in Jamaica where his friend, the Reverend Rob Rumball, was starting a residential school for deaf children, the first of its kind on the island. John would help by driving the children home for Christmas and returning a week later to bring them back to the school for the next semester.

Although very accomplished by dint of his own hard work, John did not know arrogance. He was a quietly religious person who felt God had a hand in everything that was given to him. His good fortune was to be shared with others, not jealousy guarded as if he was somehow superior for having achieved such remarkable accomplishments.

When Nora passed away in June of this year, we wondered how John would react. Nora suffered from Alzheimer's and John would never leave her side for long. Together they celebrated their 60th anniversary last fall and they were inseparable until the end.

The family hoped John would finally find some time for himself but a mere six weeks after Nora's death, John found himself in the hospital with serious health problems.

It was almost as if he forced himself to live with and ignore these problems while he tended to Nora. As Ellen Redcliffe, the Minister for Eastminster United Church said, John realized his work here on earth had been accomplished to the best of his ability, and he could go in peace.

It was time to be with Nora in a place that could not know many more deserving people than John.

He had rightfully earned his place in Heaven where we know he will enjoy eternal peace and happiness.

John certainly made this a better place for more people than can be imagined. He has served as an example of how life should be lived. He believed in the basic goodness of human beings. He showed his family and all others whom he came in contact with how to enrich your own life by helping others.

He should always remind us of what we are, or should be, all about.