ANNE GOODMAN Obituary, memorial

ANNE GOODMAN Obituary
It is with tremendous sadness that we announce that Anne Goodman passed away in Toronto on August 1, 2013 at the age of 62 after a brief but incredibly courageous battle with cancer. She leaves her devoted and loving family: her husband, Michael, her mother, Sonia, her brother, David, and daughters Sandy (Richard), Susie (Nathan) and Vicki (Mauricio), and grandson, Hudson, along with family and many, many treasured colleagues and friends around the world.
Anne was born on November 29, 1950 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She received her first degree in occupational therapy. She moved to Toronto in 1978. Anne has committed her life both personally and professionally to social justice and building a culture of peace around the world, through fostering dialogue and community healing. She taught at OISE in the department of Adult Education and Community Development, directed a graduate certificate in Community Healing and Peacebuilding and was the Co-Director of the Transformative Learning Centre at OISE. Anne was the president and co-founder of InterChange: International Institute for Community-Based Peacebuilding.
As a humanist officiant, Anne created beautiful and personal ceremonies for people sharing life’s biggest moments. Anne was someone who truly made the world a better place, every single day, in ways big and small, and will continue to do so through her enduring and powerful legacy. Everything she did was done with purpose, passion, empathy, authenticity, insight, grace, and love. Teacher, learner, communicator, facilitator, writer, nurturer, peacebuilder, nature lover, thinker, reader, baker, cyclist, dreamer, gardener, spiritual healer, global citizen, neighbour, community member, friend, beautiful spirit – Anne was so many wonderful things to so many people across the globe – she will be deeply missed and in our hearts forever.
A private family funeral will take place in accordance with a natural burial approach, as she wanted. A public celebration of Anne’s life will take place on Monday August 12, from 2-5 p.m. in the Floral Hall at the Toronto Botanical Gardens (777 Lawrence Avenue East). Donations to the peacebuilding organization that she co-founded, InterChange (www.interchange4peace.org), can be made through the website or www.CanadaHelps.org. In addition, contributions can be made to the Anne Goodman Tree Fund by sending an e-transfer to nathandavidgreene@gmail.com to help us plant trees throughout Toronto parks in her memory.