bout de papier, Vol. 26, No. 3 (2012) — Spring 2012 // Printemps 2012, pp. 31–32
Born Winnipeg, October 2, 1921. Died Ottawa, March 24, 2011, aged 89. Teacher, commentator and historian on Canada’s role in world affairs. Vigorous advocate of the cause of Palestine. Died of natural causes.
By his middle years Peyton Lyon had fallen into the habit of writing letters to the editors of newspapers. A friend, who was a man of the world, chided him: “You have become a second Eugene Forsey.” It was, Peyton remarked, the highest compliment he had ever received.
Peyton Lyon’s early career prepared him for a life of advocacy. Service in the RCAF took him to West Africa where, as a navigator on a Wellington bomber, he searched for German raiders in the South Atlantic. Four years at the University of Manitoba gave him an apprenticeship in debating and in student politics. A Rhodes Scholarship in 1949 sent him to Oxford, where he was challenged by the daunting curriculum in philosophy, politics and economics. There followed a doctoral thesis exploring the stormy life of Claude Saint-Simon, the founder of French socialism.
The outpouring of love and affection for our friend and colleague, Michael Rooney, bears witness to the high esteem in which he was held by all whose lives he touched. We offer our heartfelt condolences and lasting affection for his beloved wife, Jane, and their children, David, Sarah and Jonathan. Our grief runs deep at the loss of one so dear, filled with so much life, and still so young at only fifty two. We shall miss him.
In death, as in life, Michael left us a rich legacy. It is built upon an impressive record External Affairs then beckoned and he spent six years in Bonn and Ottawa. Government service did not offer a field for advocacy so it was on to a university career teaching political science, first at the University of Western Ontario, then at Carleton University. The latter institution had just inaugurated a program of graduate studies in international relations. The Norman Paterson School had begun in 1965 and Peyton Lyon became a charter member of its faculty. Peyton established his credentials as a serious student of Canadian foreign policy when he contributed a volume to the ground-breaking series “Canada in World Affairs”, sponsored by the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. Lyon’s contribution was a fair-minded treatise on the Diefenbaker administration, 1961—1963.
There followed other publications of a serious nature: books, articles submitted to journals and to accompany appearances before parliamentary committees. Subjects ranged from constructive roles for Canada in the United Nations, NATO and military relations with the United States in the Cold War. He considered free trade between Canada and the United States and its of achievement over two decades at DFAIT — beginning as a locally-engaged officer at the Consulate in Detroit to Director of Team Canada and later Departmental Assistant to the Minister for International Trade — but more importantly as a loving husband, father and brother. It is also through a lifetime of living and sharing based on what I would call the Gospel according to Michael: “Life is Good!”
Michael uttered this mantra for as long as I knew him — as a friend, a colleague, and a fellow traveller on the track at the Ottawa Heart Institute. It was more than a catch phrase or hollow consolation. benefits for both countries. The Israel- Palestine conflict engaged his attention. An engrossing project was an invitation from Foreign Minister Joe Clark, in 1990, to explore the case against Herbert Norman, a Canadian diplomat whose loyalty had been questioned. Lyon derived great satisfaction in upholding Norman’s reputation. During his last years Lyon devoted himself to advancing the Palestine cause.
There were three basic characteristics in Lyon’s public comments. His work was based on a thorough understanding of Canada’s performance as an international actor. It reflected independent thinking and it was consistently courageous. Peyton was an enthusiastic teacher, taking time with his students and never losing his temper. His views were sometimes controversial but Peyton always stood his ground.
David Farr is a retired Professor of History at Carleton University. He first met Peyton Lyon in 1950 when both were members of New College, Oxford. They were closely involved in the establishment of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton.
in victory or in defeat, in joy or in sorrow, or in celebrating success or coping with disappointment, that dictum went to the very essence of his being. He believed it. He proclaimed it. He lived it.
Michael was neither a philosopher nor a theologian. He was straightforward and pragmatic, yet my sense is that both philosophers and theologians would agree that Michael understood something fundamental about life and its purpose —he connected with something much greater than ordinary life.
In Made for Goodness, Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes, “Goodness is our essence… [It] changes the way we see the world, the way we see others, and, most importantly, the way we see ourselves. The way we see ourselves matters. It affects how we treat people. It affects the quality of life for each and all of us.”
Our challenge in this too brief passage on earth is to refine the goodness within ourselves, to find and honour the goodness in each other. These were the hallmarks, the very heart of Michael’s life. In the tributes that poured in following his death three words, three hallmarks, keep surfacing: Laughter, Loyalty, and Love:
LAUGHTER — Michael could find humour in any situation and made us laugh in good times and bad. He lightened our load, helped heal wounds,
Rooney family members asked bout de love and ongoing support, with special t “We miss him terribly but he will live or established at the Ottawa Heart Institute Family Endowment Fund at the Univers relieved the tension, and kept us looking on the bright side. He often dismantled the armour of mistrust and paved a path from conflict to cooperation. What a precious talent for any team, whether on the hockey rink, in Tower C, or around the family hearth!
LOYALTY — His brand of loyalty was thoughtful and constructive, and he was proud to serve his country. His values were rooted in the call to serve others which he did with unfailing dedication and commitment. At home, at work, or at play, you could count on Michael always.
LOVE — Michael understood what St. Paul, in his Letter to the Corinthians, referred to as unconditional love. Jonathan, Sarah, and David experienced it firsthand. So did others: orphaned as a young man, Michael took his younger brother and sister under his wing with the loving support of his soul mate, Jane. He may have been born with a heart defect, but there was nothing defective about his heart and his capacity for loving others.
As he rests in the warm embrace of God’s love, I can almost hear Michael say: “Life is good…and Life beyond Life is also good!”
The Reverend Laurette A. Glasgow is a retired member of DFAIT and former Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Council of Europe; she was recently named Special Adviser for Government Relations for the Anglican Church of Canada.
View the original scanned pages →
Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 26, No. 3 (2012) — Spring 2012 // Printemps 2012, pp. 31–32. Read the rest of this issue →
