bout de papier, Vol. 9, No. 1 (1992) — Winter 1992 // Hiver 1992, p. 4
Lest We Forget: In Memory of John W. Holmes
I was privileged to be a good friend and colleague of John W. Holmes when I served with the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) as a Director of Branch Relations and Development, while he was still the Director-General in the early ’70s. […] Lester B. Pearson was his mentor when he entered External Affairs. One one occasion, as a junior officer, John wrote a position paper which was to come across Mr. Pearson’s desk in which he used the term “I feel”. He received a stern note back stating: “An External Affairs’ officer is not supposed to feel; he thinks.” In later years, particularly after Mr. Pearson’s retirement from politics, they became good friends, meeting frequently and exchanging analysis and assessments of international relations, especially on the role of the United Nations, which they both strongly supported.
In the early ’70s … Pearson was a speaker at a CIIA dinner and John was given the task of introducing him. Holmes came onto the podium armed with a multitude of papers, shuffling them in apparent confusion back and forth, muttering to himself, until finally he pulled on out with a victorious smile, and then said, “Ah, here it is. Our speaker graduated from the Newtonbrook High School in Willowdale, worked for the Armor Company in Chicago, and played shortstop for the Louisville Sluggers” — and then sat down.
On another occasion, John was to speak in Bahia, Brazil at an international conference dealing with the attitudes of other nations in Latin America. He was preceded by Gerard Pelletier, who emphasized on two or three occasions that his analysis was given from the perspective of a Francophone. When John’s turn came, he commented wryly that his views would be those of an Anglosaxophone. […]
John Holmes was a kind-hearted person and always tried to help his fellow human beings in distress. In 1967, along with a half dozen other Canadians, we attended a colloquium on Mexico-Canada relations in Mexico. On the flight south, one member of our delegation introduced another passenger, a presentable young man whom he knew well. After the colloquium, John and I spent an extra day in Mexico and enjoyed a delightful evening and overnight stay at the residence of the Canadian Ambassador, also a good friend of John’s, Mr. Saul Rae, father of the current Premier of Ontario. On the way back, we discovered the same young man whom we had met on our earlier flight, with both legs injured and obviously in great pain. Apparently, he dove into unfamiliar waters, hit a hidden rock, and was lucky to come out alive. John arranged for a wheelchair, himself pushed him around to collect his luggage, and made sure he arrived home safely. This was a fine act of kindness, rendered to a person whom he barely knew. This person later entered federal politics, was elected to the House of Commons, served as a Minister in the Liberal Government, and is still an opposition member in Parliament. His name was Robert Kaplan. […]
Our birthdays happened to be just a few days apart (at the end of June). Often, when we were both in town, we had lunch together to celebrate somewhere in a quiet relaxed atmosphere with good food. The last such occasion was in 1988. It was both pleasant and sad. Pleasant, since due to my frequent travel abroad as a consultant, we had not seen each other for over a year and thus had much news to relate. Sad, because John at that time knew well that he was dying of cancer and that this would be our very last such lunch together. He passed away about six weeks later.
Bless you, John, we all miss you!
John F. Sokol Willowdale, Ontario
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 9, No. 1 (1992) — Winter 1992 // Hiver 1992, p. 4. Read the rest of this issue →
