Tribute to ‘a renaissance man of peace’
It is sad to hear about the passing at the age of 96 of our dear Friend (Quaker) Murray McCheyne Thomson on May 2nd, 2019, in Ottawa, Ontario.
He was born in China, raised by parents who where Christian missionaries, came to Canada as a child, grew, joined the Society of Friends, and persistently advocated for world peace to the end of his life. I really admired him, as did many here.
I last saw him on March 30, 2019 at the 'Say No to NATO' demonstration in downtown Ottawa during a blizzardy snowy cold day. He came out on his walker. I took pictures of Murray and briefly talked about the Big Issues of society — of disarmament and peace.We have had a long relationship with Murray over the years. I first met him in Saskatchewan in the early1950s when Murray worked as an adult educator. We met again in the 1970s at the Grindstone Island Peace Education Centre, where Murray was one of the founders. (See his paper below.)
Despite protesting the Canadian military, Murray was decorated as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001, and the Pearson Medal of Peace in 1990 from the United Nations Association of Canada. He is renowned for co-founding 7 peace organizations from 1976 to 2012.
In 1982 Murray was one of the signatories with me to a UN appeal at the International Doukhobor Intergroup Symposium, Castlegar, BC, sent to the Second Special Session on Disarmament of the United Nations.
 |
Murray indeed will be missed. He played the violin, had a great connection to people, with lots of enthusiasm and authority as well as humour. He was a renaissance man of peace — and he and his deeds need to be remembered so as to help us save our civilization from the scourge of wars.
I believe we all need to follow his example — stand up and be counted in searching and working for world peace and social justice. With the Doomsday Clock of Scientists at one minute to midnight, the need to speak out today is very urgent!
Update — On Oct 23, 2019, a Celebration of Life gathering for Murray was held at the First Unitarian Church, Ottawa. I posted 63 photos. Around 200 people turned out including many peace activists, such as Ernie Regehr, Earl Turcotte, Brent Patterson, Ken Kensky Billings, Nick Aplin, Budd Hall, Edward Gertler, Dennis Gruending, Eric J. Schiller, Matt Legge, Jean Christie, Gordon Breedyk, Evelyn Voigt, Fergus Watt, Randy Weekes, Susan McMaster, Colin Stuart, Debbie Grisdale, Mary Girard, Judith Brown, and Sybil Grace. The program included a Memorial Meeting, Reception, and an evening gathering at a Westboro Pub. The Memorial brought forth many praises to the late Murray Thomson — a 'living legend' who was intellectually committed to peaceful social change in creating a world without wars.
By and about Murray
Murray Thomson, Wikipedia
Murray Thomson, Ottawa Quakers active in peace work (a selection), Quakers.org.
Fonds RC0129 - Murray Thomson fonds, 1941-2011 (Creation), Archives and Collections, McMaster University Library, Hamilton, Ontario.
Murray Thomson. ‘The Relevance of our Testimonies to Peace’, Symposium Proceedings: International Doukhobor Intergroup Symposium. Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada, June 25-28, 1982. Pages 58-59. Koozma J. Tarasoff (Coordinator and Editor).
Murray Thomson. The Grindstone Era: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, The Canadian Quaker History Journal, No. 66, 2001, pages 12-15. — Paper given at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the CFHA
Murray Thomson. Minutes to midnight : Why more than 800 Order of Canada recipients call for nuclear disarmament (PDF). Ottawa, ON. 2005.
Murray Thomson. ‘Toward a Culture of Peace’, Press Release from the Religious Society of Friends: 30 August 2006 — Announcement for the Gardner Lecture at the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, Winnipeg, Manitoba, given by Murray: 'Toward a Culture of Peace: Can We Afford to Pay the Price?'
Koozma J. Tarasoff. Ottawa Peace Festival Provides Hope for an Ailing World : 1st Ottawa Peace Festival 2007 Review. October 3, 2007.
Murray Thomson. Traditional Peace Groups Explore Withdrawal from NATO. October 24, 2008, Spirit Wrestlers website.
Koozma J. Tarasoff. Peacemaker Murray Thomson at 90, plus 108 photographs, 55 showing Murray. December 10, 2012. Spirit Wrestlers website.
‘Age is More : Murray Thompson’ (3.5 min video), The Revera and Reel Youth Age is More Film Project. Youtube, July 3, 2014.
Walk with Us, (poster) Ottawa Peace Festival 2015.
Nuclear war still threatens world, experts say; disarmament only solution, CBC News, May 17, 2016 — Murray Thomson has over 800 Order of Canada winners supporting disarmament in new book.
Peace activist says it's time to speak up about nuclear disarmament, BC Almanac, Episode 300249841 (22:39 min. audio), CBC Radio, May 16, 2016 — Can Canada help lead the world to nuclear disarmament? An Order of Canada winner says yes — but the people need to speak up, and the politicians need to listen.
Murray Thomson (#151): 150+ Canadians who contributed to peace. Peace Quest, July 2, 2017.
Koozma J. Tarasoff. ‘Music Against War’ versus CANSEC — May 30, 2018, plus 96 photos, 2 showing Murray. June 4, 2018. Spirit Wrestlers website.
Koozma J. Tarasoff. No to NATO and War — Yes to Peace and Progress, plus 40 photos, 6 showing Murray, taken in Ottawa. March 3, 2019, updated March 30, 2019. Spirit Wrestlers blog.
Dennis Gruending. 'Peace activist Murray Thomson dies at 96'. May 5, 2019.
Murray Thomson, co-founder Project Ploughshares, 1922-2019 : requiescal in pace, Project Ploughshares, May 6, 2019.
Cresky, Jim. Murray Thomson: from RCAF pilot to pacifist, The Hill Times, May. 8, 2019
On the loss of Murray Thomson …a fine fellow with a great sense of humour, PeaceQuest, May 17, 2019. — Links to 5 more articles.
No comments:
Post a Comment