Obituary of Frederick Douglas Toole

The death of Frederick Toole of Saint John, NB occurred on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 at The Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario as a result of complications following a bone marrow transplant. Survived by his wife Suzanne (Akerley) Toole; two daughters, Colleen Toole (Colin Nordholt) of Grand Bay ? Westfield, NB and Erin Toole (Ian Rice) of Toronto, ON; one son, Sean Toole (Tamara Chase) of Saint John; two grandsons, Finn Nordholt and Jack Rice; six brothers, Donald (Mary) Toole of Keswick, NB, Terrance (Irene) Toole of Blissfield, NB, Malcolm (Josephine) Toole of Oromocto, NB, Philip (Fran) Toole of Fredericton, NB, Karl (Gladys) Toole of Oromocto, NB and Christopher (Barbara) Toole of Quispamsis, NB, and several Aunts, Uncles, Nieces and Nephews. Fred's greatest love was his family. He will be greatly missed by his wife, children and grandchildren and he will be forever in our hearts. Fred was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick on January 13, 1945 son of the late Douglas and Alma (Wood) Toole. He received his education at Oromocto High School, the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, where he received his B.A. (Honours) in Divinity, Trinity College at the University of Toronto and the Law School of the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, where he received his LLB. in 1971. He received the Chancellor's Prize from Bishop's University, the Dean Grassett Memorial Scholarship from Trinity College and was a Beaverbrook Scholar in Law at the UNB Law School. Prior to entering law school, Fred served as the Executive Assistant to the New Brunswick Minister of Natural Resources in 1967 and 1968. Upon his admission to the New Brunswick bar, Fred joined McKelvey, Macaulay, Machum & Fairweather (now Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales) in Saint John in 1971 as an associate lawyer, becoming a partner in 1975. Fred was the Managing Partner of the New Brunswick offices of Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales on two different occasions. He was an active member of the firm's Partnership Board and, at the time of his death, the Corporate/Commercial Practice Manager of the firm. Fred practised, and was acknowledged by his peers as an expert, in the areas of securities, commercial, banking and corporate finance law. For a number of years Fred was a director of several public corporations, including Key Anacon Mines, Consolidated Rambler Mines, Northern Canada Mines, Atlantic Coast Copper Corporation and First Maritime Mining Corporation. Fred served as a member of the Representation and Electoral District Boundaries Commission of New Brunswick between 1992 and 1993, and was a member of and counsel to Saint John Bicentennial Inc. Throughout his practising career, Fred was a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of New Brunswick and the Saint John Law Society. He was a former director of the Canadian Bar Insurance Association, former member and chair of the Insurance Management Committee of the Law Society, former member and chair of the Personal Property Security Act Committee of the Law Society and for many years an active member of both the Law Foundation of New Brunswick and the Canadian Lawyers' Insurance Association. Fred was also particularly proud of having received a certificate from Mr. Justice Gerard V. LaForest, then a member of the Supreme Court of Canada, for his contribution to the University of New Brunswick Law School newsletter. Fred was a lecturer in Property Law, Landlord and Tenant Law, Commercial Law, Company Law (where he was a former Section Chair) and Legal Drafting with the Law Society's Bar Admission Course. He was also a frequent presenter in many continuing legal education programs of both the Law Society and the Canadian Bar Association. As a result of his professional and civic contributions, Fred was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994. Fred served as counsel to Mr. Justice Guy A. Richard of the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick in connection with his review of the sale and subsequent bankruptcy of Transport Route Canada, and also served as counsel and technical advisor to Mr. Justice Richard in his capacity as mediator/arbitrator under lengthy proceedings in Ottawa arising out of the federal Postal Services Continuation Act. Fred was named as one of the 500 leading lawyers in Canada by LEXPERT magazine and American Lawyer Media in their joint publication “The 1999 Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada”. Fred was active for many years at St. Anne's Anglican Church, Ketepec, NB and more recently was a member of St. George's Anglican Church, West Saint John. Resting at Brenan's Select Community Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, NB (506) 634-7424 with visiting on Saturday, January 24, 2004 from 2-4 and 7-9 pm and on Sunday, January 25, 2004 from 2-4 pm. Funeral Service will be held on Monday, January 26, 2004 at 11 am. from Trinity Anglican Church, 115 Charlotte St., Saint John with cremation to follow. Memorial donations may be made to the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation in support of the Oncology Department or a charity of the donors choice.