HEART OF A LION
Jeanne Beker pays tribute to Tom Symons, one of our great Canadians
THOMAS H.B. SYMONS May 30, 1929 — Jan. 1, 2021
A 90th-birthday party is a heartswelling way to learn about how exceptional a person is and how profoundly they have managed to touch the lives of others. So when I was invited to Toronto-born Tom Symons’ 90th at his elegant Peterborough home, “Marchbanks,” in the spring of 2019, I knew I was in for a welldeserved love fest for a man who had inspired so many. I also enjoyed an extra-special privilege: I got to peek into Professor Symons’ private office, with its shelves lined with books, walls rife with diplomas and degrees and boxes filled with precious photos everywhere. It was one of the warmest, most interesting rooms I’d ever seen. “This is what the inside of Tom Symons’ brain must look like!” I marvelled.
What impressed me most was the space’s total lack of pretension. Even more than an ode to a life in academia, this chamber provided an exquisite reflection of Tom Symons’ heart. As the trail-blazing founding president of Trent University, who championed Canadian Studies when he started the school in 1961, and as Chairman of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in the mid ’70s, who helped lead advancements for the LGBTQ community, Tom Symons not only made an indelible mark on this country’s culture but he also helped define what it means to be a great Canadian.
In 1976, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 1997, he was promoted to Companion. Alongside Christine, his beautiful wife of 57 years, Tom raised three dynamic children, instilling in all of them a sense of place, purpose and history. As Chairman of the Board of United World Colleges in the ’80s, he met Prince Charles, and because of their shared interest in education, they struck up a strong friendship. On Tom’s last trip to London, Prince Charles invited him to bring his grandchildren to Clarence House for tea. That was just one of her father’s intriguing relationships, says his daughter Mary Symons. “Our house, when I was a child, was full of interesting people. There were some politicians, like the Diefenbakers, and all sorts of Canadian leaders with different political stripes. I remember René Lévesque, swirled in smoke, coming to our house to visit my father, though I can’t recall why. And there was Toronto’s Sam Sniderman (of legendary Sam the Record Man fame) and (Honest) Ed Mirvish…”
Aside from his impressive list of close friends and professional liaisons, what really stands out about Tom Symons is the impact he had on everyone who was lucky enough to know him. “He inspired generations and thousands of students,” says Mary. “He was always mentoring and meeting with students, always listening and encouraging.” I wondered how Tom felt when Mary decided to drop out of McGill University and run off to Paris to pursue a modelling career. “Well, that was a bit of stretch for him,” Mary says with a laugh. “But he never stopped me or told me not to go at all. And I did come back and finish my degree.” What this father wanted for all his kids, according to Mary, was to have a wonderful education and experience the world. “He encouraged us not only to understand what it is to be Canadian but to go and explore the world and make a difference,” she says. “And he gave me every opportunity educationally, which is, I think, one of the biggest gifts you can be given.”
Tom’s gentle spirit and profound kindness might be hard to comprehend when you think of the fierce drive he obviously had to have accomplished so much. But Mary claims that her father was a conciliator by nature. “He didn’t believe that being angry was going to resolve anything,” she says. “But he had a lot of emotion, especially as he aged, and he had a lot of heart. He was never afraid. If he wanted to cry, he cried. He’d cry watching the Queen’s message at Christmas! He loved her so much.” Tom also loved a good party, and Mary recalls the wonderful times she had with her dad at social gatherings in London, singing along to the great war songs.
Mary and her mother, Christine, bid adieu to Tom on New Year’s Eve, when he was on the verge of death. Due to the pandemic, Tom’s sons Jeffrey and Ryerson couldn’t be there. Mary describes the poignant goodbye as one of the best moments of her life. “My dad truly loved Vera Lynn, so we put her music on and sang along to him, each of us holding his hand. We sang ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and ‘Until We Meet Again.’ We think that he heard us.”
‘‘ He encouraged us not only to understand what it is to be Canadian but to go and explore the world and make a difference.