Former McMaster chancellor was ‘generous and kind’
Waterloo resident was devoted to university for more than seven decades
John Panabaker, who served as the 14th chancellor of McMaster University, is being remembered as “generous and kind” and for his longtime devotion to the university.
The respected Canadian businessperson and Order of Canada recipient — who died Feb. 5 at age 94 in Waterloo — was involved with the university for seven decades, starting when he came to the university as a student in 1946.
He was active in the school’s debating society and in producing many publications from the McMaster Students Union. In 1968, he joined the board of governors and served on it for 12 years, including the last two as chair.
He became chancellor in 1986, taking over from former academic and top civil servant Allan Leal. Panabaker served for six years and was succeeded by diplomat James Taylor.
Panabaker, a former president of the Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada, also made many financial donations to McMaster and founded the John H. Panabaker Trust Fund and the Panabaker Digitization Trust. He served on the board of the school’s art gallery and helped build it into the McMaster Museum of Art.
“Dr. Panabaker was a steadfast, thoughtful and articulate McMaster leader from his days as a student to his time as chair of the board of governors, then as chancellor and beyond,” McMaster president David Farrar said in a statement.
“His relationship with our university began in the shadow of the Second World War and endured for more than three quarters of a century. The impact of his volunteer efforts and philanthropy will extend at least that long again, I am sure.”
Carol Podedworny, director and chief curator of the art museum, called Panabaker’s impact monumental.
“While his initial and significant financial contribution to the museum has long supported our operations, more recently his continued vision and generosity enabled the museum to digitize our entire permanent collection — a task many institutions are only beginning to undertake,” she said in a statement. “John was a thoughtful, supportive, generous and kind donor.”
In 1981, Panabaker received an honorary doctor of laws degree from McMaster and, a year later, he was inducted into the McMaster Alumni Gallery. He received the McMaster Students Union Alumni Association Lifetime Leadership Award in 1997 and the McMaster Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 2011. He was presented with many other honours, including the Order of Canada in 1990 and the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award in 2014.
Panabaker was born July 31, 1928. He grew up in Preston and graduated from Preston High School. He was one of the first to be inducted into that school’s hall of fame in 2005.
While he was going to McMaster, he went to work part-time for Mutual Life, which is based in Waterloo and was founded in 1870. Panabaker graduated from McMaster with a bachelor of arts in 1950 and received the Chancellor’s Gold Medal. He obtained his masters in economics in 1954 from the university.
Panabaker eventually went to work full-time for Mutual Life in 1954 and rose up the corporate ladder. He became executive vicepresident in 1969, president and CEO in 1973, chair and CEO in 1982 and chair in 1985. He retired in 1989.
Panabaker served as a director on many other company boards, including Maple Leaf Mills and Bell Canada. He served as head of the Corporate-Higher Education Forum, which was founded in 1983 to foster more co-operation between businesses and universities and to boost financial support for postsecondary schools.
Panabaker was involved with such groups as the Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation, Waterloo Public Library Board, Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra Association and the Freeport Hospital in Kitchener.
Panabaker is survived by his children, David, James, Leslie, Doran and Ian, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Janet, who died at 98 in 2022. He is also predeceased by his brother Robert.