Mr. William Maynard McQueen

William Maynard McQueen (1940-2017). Bill McQueen passed away suddenly on Friday, February 3rd from complications of his health conditions. Bill is survived by his long-time partner Bounthavy (Bon) Posavanh, his brother John James (Jim) McQueen and wife Beth Wolf, his niece Kathy McQueen, and his nephew James McQueen. He will be sadly missed by many friends from his disability community, in the OISE/UT/CASAE Adult Education community, Dharma Friends meditation group, his political circles, Counterpoint Community Orchestra, LGBT and other communities. Bill grew up in Normal IL where his love for music was evident from an early age. He was all-state first chair clarinet in high school and continued playing in an orchestra as an adult. Bill was a dedicated community organizer, an adult educator with a keen sense of social justice, a video story teller who extended ‘voice’ to developing and emerging communities, and consultant for small to large corporations wishing to develop effective accessibility strategies to include persons with disabilities in their operations and culture. Bill earned his Bachelor in Humanities from The City University of New York and his Master’s in Education (Adult Education and Learning) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He worked in New York City as a radio program host for about 10 years and later at the Globe & Mail in Toronto. Among Bill’s many accomplishments were: Organizer and Founder, Group4Access; CFO and Documentary Video Producer, Fireweed Media Productions Inc.; Facilitator and Developer, Media Access and Participation Initiative; Managing Editor of The Learning Edge CASAE; Producer of “The Disability Network” for CBC Television; and co-founder, Chair and Member of the Board of Directors for Counterpoint Community Orchestra in Toronto. Bill was dedicated to the success of the orchestra, and to maintaining its strong commitment to its origins, both as a community orchestra, and as emerging from and giving back to the LGBTQ community. There will be a Celebration of Life on Saturday, March 18, 2017, from 1:30-2:30pm at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto. Doors open at 1:00, and there will be a casual reception with light refreshments to follow, to about 3:30. Donations may be made to the Counterpoint Community Orchestra, 63 Wellesley Street East, Box 41, Toronto, M4Y 2E3, or The 519 Community Centre, Toronto.

Mr. William Maynard McQueen

February 3, 2017