Obituary of E. Sydney Jackson

E. Sydney Jackson May 17, 1922 - April 10, 2016 Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Syd Jackson was the son of Edwin Jackson, a lawyer, and Dorothy Bell Jackson. With his brother, the late Dr. Harold Jackson and his sister, Dorothy Jackson, he was raised and educated in Regina. He then joined the Canadian Army in 1943, and served as a lieutenant until 1945 when he entered the University of Manitoba. He graduated with a B. Com. in 1947, and then taught actuarial studies for a year. In 1948 he married Nancy Stovel of Winnipeg, daughter of Gordon and Edna Stovel, with whom he had a long and wonderful marriage until her death in 1998. In his later years he enjoyed a dear and happy friendship with Vi Kerr, who died in 2005. A tall, imposing presence with a penetrating and wide-ranging intelligence, and a wicked sense of humour, he was kind, sociable and entirely unpretentious in manner, a skilled and competitive bridge and cribbage player (games in which he continued to be victorious up into his final weeks), a fine pianist, an enthusiastic golfer and curler, and a devoted family man. Syd joined the Manufacturers Insurance Company of Canada in the actuarial department in 1948. He was appointed Chief Actuary in 1956 and Actuarial Vice-President in 1964. He became President of the newly-created Canadian Institute of Actuaries in 1967. He was appointed Executive Vice President in 1970 of Manulife and then President in 1972, the youngest person ever to have held the position. During the next fifteen years he led Manulife through an extraordinary period of expansion and modernization, which included a large-scale reorganization of company operations, the redesign of office work space, the implementation of progressive human resources policies, with a particular emphasis on increasing the role of women in the senior management of the company, and extending the company into international markets. Meanwhile, Manulife assets grew from $2.3 billion in 1972 to $16.5 billion in 1985 when he assumed the role of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Syd continued to serve as Chairman until 1990, then variously as Director, Interim Chair and Vice Chair until he finally retired from the firm in 1994. He was an early supporter and long-time director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), and his work for The Arthritis Society of Canada was recognized when he received the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2013. He died peacefully and with dignity at the age of 93. He will be greatly missed by his three daughters, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Trisha Jackson, her husband, Ramsay Derry, and their sons Alex Derry and Duncan Derry; Barbara Jackson, her husband, Rob Keyes, and her sons Christopher Maloney and Patrick Maloney; Cathy Cotter, her husband, Lorne Cotter, and their children Michael Cotter; Lynn Cotter, her partner Mike MacDonald and their son Blake; Stephanie Raheel and her husband Mustapha Raheel and their daughter Maya; and Bradley Cotter, as well as the extended Jackson and Stovel families. The family will receive friends at the HUMPHREY FUNERAL HOME A.W. MILES - NEWBIGGING CHAPEL, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Davisville Avenue) from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, 2016. The funeral service will be held in LAWRENCE PARK COMMUNITY CHURCH, 2180 Bayview Avenue, Toronto at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 16th. In lieu of flowers, gifts to CIFAR and the Arthritis Society of Canada would be appreciated. Condolences and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymilesnewbigging.com.