Rest in peace, Timothy Findley, kind, gentle, generous soul.

I never read any of his books - did look at them and was not drawn by his style - but I met him once, and heard him speak a couple of times, and his kind nature and solid integrity were inspiring. He gave a lecture entitled, "My Final Hour," when I was at Trent University in the late 1980s. The theme was the message he would give to the world, if he knew he had only an hour to live.

He spoke of reconciliation; and his personal mantra was, "Against despair."

Let us go in peace to love and serve the board.