Obituary of Geoffrey Ogram

GEOFFREY OGRAM On Friday morning the 15th of April, at 2:00 a.m., Geoff Ogram passed away in Toronto General Hospital, after a six year battle with lung cancer. His soul mate and wife of 43. years, Dawn, was by his side continuously throughout his brief hospitalization, inseparable to the end. He is also survived by his siblings, Mark (Gail), Deborah (Jan) and Claire (David) and his nieces, all of who live in South Africa and Australia. Geoff was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1951. He completed his undergraduate work in Durban, and moved to Canada to undertake graduate studies in physics in 1973 after marrying Dawn. On completing his PhD and postdoctoral positions in Physics, Geoff progressed to a successful career in energy research at Ontario Hydro, then corporate affairs and executive positions at Hydro One, before he and Dawn retired in 2010, with a goal of world travel, one of their lifelong dreams. But not long after their retirement Geoff, a never smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer, and so begun his 6 year struggle against this most deadly of diseases. Geoff never lost hope, and when offered the opportunity to make a difference, Geoff turned his analytic skills and his experience of this devastating disease into an opportunity to advocate for early diagnosis, research and treatments that might see lung cancer funded at a level proportionate to its devastating impact, to provide greater hope for those with the disease. He threw himself into a role in advocacy at Lung Cancer Canada, where he led many advocacy initiatives and was involved as the Advocacy Committee Co-Chair on the LCC Board. Geoff was passionate about this his last cause. To ensure the initiatives he advocated for so tirelessly can continue and blossom, donations may be made in lieu of flowers to a fund in his name at Lung Cancer Canada: the Geoffrey Ogram Memorial Research Fund. A Tribute Service to celebrate Geoff's life will take place on Wednesday, April 27th at 3:00 p.m. at the HUMPHREY FUNERAL HOME A.W. MILES - NEWBIGGING CHAPEL, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Davisville Avenue), followed by a reception in the Rosedale Room.