30 January 1939 – 24 January 2017
Tim died at home with his loving wife of 45 years, Ros, at his side. He fought his courageous battle with cancer without any complaint. Tim was predeceased by his parents, Isabel and Ellis Crooks, by his brother, David, and by his nephew, Jonathan. He leaves behind his sister, Sue, and his two nieces, Alex and Jill.
Born in Toronto, he spent his early years in the North before returning to Toronto to start high school. He graduated from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec, with a B.Sc. in Mathematics and then obtained an MBA at the University of Western Ontario.
After working in Toronto, Tim moved to London, England, and later to Switzerland where he spent four happy years working first for I.O.S. and then for the World Health Organization in Geneva. He met his wife, Ros, in the Swiss mountain resort, Leysin. They married in England and eventually returned to Toronto.
The village of Shanty Bay, a small community on the shores of Lake Simcoe, was his family’s ancestral home. There he spearheaded the protection of ‘The Church Woods’ to be acquired by the Couchiching Conservancy – a 10 hectare stand with 33 species of trees behind the most notable historic site in the village, the St. Thomas Anglican Church built in the 1800s. His ever-present passion for the environment led him to work tirelessly with the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, a Lake-wide citizen umbrella organization formed to be an effective advocate for the restoration and protection of the environmental health and quality of Lake Simcoe. This resulted in the adoption of the ground-breaking Lake Simcoe Protection Act.- still unique in Canada. Tim was invited to join the Board of the Lake Simcoe Foundation and he continued with his work on local environmental issues as President of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition until this Fall.
During his illness Tim was surrounded by his many friends and family. Thank you to all those who cared so much about Tim and a special thank you to Jen Howey and Peter Burrill for their constant support.
In keeping with Tim’s wishes there will be a service at the family church of St Thomas Anglican in Shanty Bay on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at noon. Visitation one hour prior.
Regrettably, due to the small size of the church, space will be limited to family and close friends.
A “Celebration of Life” and reception will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2017 in Shanty Bay at 2.00 pm. Tim’s wide circle of friends will be warmly welcomed. A reminder will be circulated closer to the date.
Donations can be made to the Couchiching Conservancy through Adams Funeral Home. Messages of condolence may be forwarded to the family through adamsfuneralhome.ca