Obituary of L. Richard O'Hagan

L. RICHARD O’HAGAN March 23, 1928 – December 9, 2018 With heavy hearts, we announce the death of our patriarch and sage on Sunday, December 9, 2018. Vital, active and present well into his 90th year, Dick was taken from us suddenly in the course of one day and we are comforted in the knowledge that he is now at peace. He is survived by his loving wife, Wanda, to whom he was married for 67 years; his children, Anne, Peter and Christina; children-in-law Sarah O’Hagan and Christopher Valentine; and six grandchildren, Madeleine, Olivia, Philippa, Nicholas, Grace and Katherine. He was predeceased by his brother Edward. He will be deeply missed. Beloved by all who knew him, Dick was defined by his boundless intellectual curiosity, his zest for life and his authentic engagement with people – all people – from cherished, lifelong friends to those whose acquaintance he may have just made. As elegant and charming as he was also opinionated and driven, he was thoughtful, always kind, loyal to a fault and beautifully generous. He had a wry and dry sense of humour and a trademark full-throated laugh. He held education and knowledge in the highest esteem. Above all, he was a believer: in democracy, human rights, the Liberal Party of Canada and the Catholic Church. An honourable man, he lived a long and good life. At his core, he was content – and never more so than when immersed in five decades of family life at Sursum Corda, the family cottage on Mary Lake. Throughout Dick’s career, he served a variety of public and private interests in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Washington D.C. Starting his career as a young journalist – he wrote a sports column while still in high school for The Woodstock Sentinel-Press – he worked as a reporter for the Toronto Telegram and freelanced for Maclean’s Magazine, establishing his inimitable voice at an early age. Dedicated to the essential power of narrative, Dick went on to establish an enviable career in strategic communications and public affairs. In 1979, he was recruited by the late Bill Mulholland, then Chairman of the Bank of Montreal, to lead the bank’s public affairs and corporate communications, which he did for two decades, followed by a post-retirement engagement as Special Advisor to Chairman and CEO Matt Barrett. Prior to joining the Bank, Dick served as Senior Advisor to the Hon. Pierre-Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. Ten years earlier, he had served as press secretary and special assistant to Mr. Trudeau’s predecessor in office, the Hon. Lester B. Pearson. Between periods of duty in the Langevin Block, he served a political appointment as Minister-Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. where, among other responsibilities, he was charged with developing an unprecedented U.S.-wide information and cultural affairs programme to support Canadian political and commercial objectives. Forging relationships at the highest levels of U.S. media and politics, Dick made his mark from the White House press corps to the halls of Congress to the St. Alban’s Tennis Club. During his tenure in Washington (1967-1977), Dick and Wanda not only bore witness to history but absorbed the waves of change that defined that seminal era. Dick was an active volunteer board director for various organizations -- most notably, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation and the Walrus Foundation. Born in Woodstock, New Brunswick, the third generation of Lawrence O’Hagans to be raised in the same house on the banks of the St John River, he was a graduate of St. Mary’s University in Halifax, from which he also received an honourary L.L.D., and studied at Fordham University, New York. A funeral mass will take place in Toronto at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 78 Clifton Road, on Saturday, December 15th at 11:00 a.m. Reception to follow at 135 St. George Street. In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to the charitable, not-for-profit Walrus Foundation in support of the Canadian Conversation and fact-based journalism. Condolences, photographs and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymilesnewbigging.com.