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The family of Alan Miller Thomas uploaded a photo
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
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Routes to Learning Canada posted a condolence
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A donation has been received at Routes to Learning Canada from Mr. & Mrs. Donald Brundage in Alan's memory. Please also accept our condolences on the passing of your father. He was a staunch supporter of Elderhostel Canada and subsequently Routes to Learning Canada as our Board Member.
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With Love from Alan, Matthew, Rachel and Martha lit a candle
Friday, September 4, 2009
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You are missed terribly Dad and you will be honoured greatly through our memories and actions and through the actions of others whose lives you have impacted.
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Melissa White posted a condolence
Monday, August 24, 2009
To the Family, My name is Melissa White and I was one of Alan's students at OISE. I came to OISE in 1993 as an adult student studying adult education. Alan was one my professors my first term. I had no idea he was such a force in Canadian adult education until much later in my studies. He was certainly knowledgeable but never pretentious! I remember well one day arriving to class in a panic because my computer had crashed and we had an assignment due that day. It was early in the term and I didn't really know Alan that well and thought to myself, well this is great! I'm in graduate school and I can't even meet a deadline! So I waited nervously through the first half of the class. When I approached him, he said to me, 'Melissa, adult students have adult problems and we have to realize and accept that if we are to be good adult educators'. It was the best piece of advice I have been given. I tell my students (who are all adults as well) this same adage every term, and give him due credit! In fact, I start the adage with, "One of my favorite professors once said to me..." Alan knew that I had moved from Nova Scotia to Toronto for graduate school. I believe he understood that regardless of how old I was or how exciting the adventure, it was a bit difficult to leave behind the familiar. Each time I saw Alan, in and out of class, he would ask how I was and engage me in conversation about home. He knew Nova Scotia's history of adult education and we would talk about it often. I'll never forget that. For me, that gesture was Alan. He could have talked about anything. He could have said a polite hello outside of the classroom and talked about the weather, as many do. But Alan always spoke to me about home; something that meant something to me. He spoke with me about issues that engaged me. In that, he was an exceptional teacher. It wasn't about him, it was about the students. When I defended my Ph.D. in 2004 I was thrilled to learn that Alan would sit on the committee. He was there at the beginning of my graduate career and I was so pleased he would be there to see me finish. I have always been very fond of Alan. I say it rarely; he was one of my favorite people. I learned a great deal from him. I can still see him sitting in the classroom at 252 Bloor Street West. Alan set an example as a teacher, mentor and friend and I will continue to strive to live up to his example. I am so very sorry for your loss. Alan touched many people and I hope that, while you will miss him terribly, you can take some comfort in the knowledge that so many held him in such esteem. I will miss him. My best wishes to the family. Melissa White, Ph.D. OISE (Adult Education) Class of 2004 Lecturer Centre for Labour Market Studies University of Leicester United Kingdom
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Norine Burgess posted a condolence
Monday, August 24, 2009
Dear Matthew & family, I'm so sorry for your loss, especially after the recent loss of your mother. I wish I could be there today at the funeral to add my support, & give you a hug! I'm thinking of you in this time of sadness, & hope to see you again one day soon. Norine Burgess
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Sara McKitrick and Bernie Burns posted a condolence
Monday, August 24, 2009
Dear Alan Jr. and Family: Please accept our sincere condolences for the loss of your father. Alan was a frequent visitor to the Technological Studies teacher education office in his last years at OISE. Sara had the privilege of co-teaching a course on PLAR with Alan in the initial teacher education program for five years. He was a mentor to many and a passionate champion of Adult Education. He will be missed but not forgotten. The archive of Alan's books and papers, known as the Alan Thomas Fonds, once donated to the University of Toronto archives will ensure Alan's work will continue to influence and inspire future scholars.
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Cathy, Dave, Kelly and Brett Hanley posted a condolence
Monday, August 24, 2009
Alan, Matthew, Rachel and Martha Let me begin by telling you that I wish I could be there with you and that I hope that your friends and family will provide support to help you through this difficult process. It is definitely a difficult time as my sisters and I can attest, losing a mother and then a father is very painful. However, it should be a time of celebration and I want to join in celebrating Alan ( or Big Alan as we always referred to him as…)’s life. As a child my summers were spent on Christie Lake and Perth , growing up with all of you ( albeit somewhat older, I still remember you all so fondly) Joanne and Alan were always part of the fun. And there was always lots of it. I so enjoyed getting Joanne to sing and lots of chats with Alan about education. But by far the image that stands in my mind is one of Alan propelling a canoe forward as he stood on the gunnels. Since that time I have seen that video ( thanks to Ralph ) almost every summer since!!! I remember taking trips to Tweed and getting to know all of your families over the years. As this generation leaves us , it is up to us to continue to stay in touch and I know that we will. I am a better person for having had the pleasure of knowing Alan Thomas Sr. All my love, Cathy Keating Hanley , Dave, Kelly and Brett
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Nicholas Webb posted a condolence
Monday, August 24, 2009
Al,please accept my condolances on the passing of your Father, my thoughts are with you and your family. Nicholas Webb, CD
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Sheri Hebdon & Family posted a condolence
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Dear Rachel & Family Please accept our sincere condolences on the passing of your father. Rachel, I remember your dad at your wedding when he gave such a beautiful toast - he was clearly so proud of you and his love for you was so obvious. Our hearts go out to all of the Thomas children and grandchildren. In the difficult days and weeks ahead, may you take all comfort in each other and in the love and support from friends and family. Love Sheri & Katarina (and Nate)
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Stewart Goodings posted a condolence
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I was a young federal bureaucrat when I first met Alan Thomas in the mid 60s, and I continued to meet him at conferences, the CAAE, and in Ottawa and Toronto for many years afterwards. The qualities he displayed were intense curiosity, great personal charm, and a fierce intellect. And a fervent belief that adults, when encouraged, could achieve great things. He was a mentor for me, and I respected him unreservedly. He was of a generation that believed public service was an honourable role, and even after we had stopped seeing each other in our respective professional capacities, he was always concerned and interested in what I was doing. I suspect there are hundreds who could write the same tribute to this truly remarkable Canadian. My sincere condolences to his family. He was a memorable individual. Stewart Goodings.
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Stephen & Laurie Bartlett posted a condolence
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Laurie & I were so glad to have had the opportunity to spend some time with your Dad. The time we spent at Telegraph Cove with Alan Sr., Martha, Ted and Drew will always remain a great memory. Your father was truly a great man. Although sad, we are sure you will be spending this time celebrating his accomplishments, of which the four of you are his finest achievements. We are thinking of you during this difficult time. Stephen and Laurie Bartlett
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Dr. D,W. Livingstone posted a condolence
Saturday, August 22, 2009
I knew Alan best as a wise and kind mentor when I was learning how to chair a department at OISE in the early 1980s. In the late 1990s, he was still the resolute anchor of the Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition project of the New Approaches to Lifelong Learning network. Within the last few years, he was the honored guest at the final public conference of one of the largest scale studies of lifelong learning yet conducted in Canada. Throughout his life, Alan continued to be an unparalleled advocate of the unconditional right to and universal benefits of adult learning. Dr. D. W. Livingstone Canada Research Chair in Lifelong Learning and Work Head, Centre for the Study of Education and Work Director, WALL Research Network Professor, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies OISE/UT, 252 Bloor St. W., Toronto, ON. M5S 1V6 CANADA Home Office Phone/Fax: 905 271-2755 E-mail: dwlivingstone@gmail.com (A donation will be made in Alan’s name to Elderhostel.)
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Howard Adelman posted a condolence
Friday, August 21, 2009
Rachel; I want to extend my condolences to you and your family. Your dad was a tremendous guy as you know. Though I have not seen him in years, the wonderful tribute to his memory not only provoked nostalgic reminiscences of the farcical efforts for the Republic of Rathnally, but my own personal and more serious contacts and discussions with Alan about Rochdale and the book, The University Game, that I co-edited with Dennis Lee. He was a significant influence in my ideas in The Holiversity. Nostalgia comes from the Greek, “nostos”, to return home, and “algos”, pain. When we study refugees we tend to conclude that bathing in nostalgia prevents the refugee from getting on in life. But when I indulge in it myself, as I did when I read the tribute to your Dad in the Globe, the homesickness evoked is not lethal but bitter sweet, connecting a sense of loss and absence with another time, another place, another world that help recall who I was and explain how I became who I am. So there is a paradoxical emotion in evoking those memories – both of deep loss and tremendous gain. The best to you and the members of your family. Howard Adelman
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susan nielsen posted a condolence
Friday, August 21, 2009
Dear Alan Jr. and family, My sincere condolences for the loss of your father. Although Alan was many things to many people, he spoke often and proudly of his family. It was a pleasure to hear the news from him of a new grandchild or trip to Scotland and the many other stories he shared. When I met first met Alan, what I knew of adult education was only in my heart, Alan took me by the hand and gently introduced me to the field of adult education and I have never looked back. He was my inspiration, a friend and mentor. I am so honoured to have walked with him through some of our adult education struggles. He will be missed terribly but never ever forgotten. Sue
