| June Callwood | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 2, 1924 Chatham, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | April 14, 2007 (aged 82) Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | Author Journalist Activist |
| Spouse(s) | Trent Frayne |
| Children | Jill Frayne Brant Frayne Jesse Frayne Casey Frayne |
| Notable relatives | Sister - Jane Labbé (Callwood) |
| Religious belief(s) | Atheist[1] |
| Notable credit(s) | Order of Canada Order of Ontario Toronto Arts Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award Canadian News Hall of Fame inductee |
June Rose Callwood, CC, OOnt (June 2, 1924 – April 14, 2007) was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She was born in Chatham, Ontario and grew up in nearby Belle River.[2][3]
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Callwood began her journalism career at Brantford Collegiate Institute, her high school where she was editor of the school paper. She dropped out of school to work for the Brantford Expositor. In 1942, she was offered a job with The Globe and Mail and moved to Toronto. She married journalist Trent Frayne two years later, but continued to use her own surname because The Globe and Mail at that time did not employ married women.[4]
She ultimately left the Globe and Mail to raise a family but later resumed her career by becoming a freelance journalist, writing books and magazine pieces, many for Maclean's. Callwood ghost-wrote close to ten autobiographies for such prominent Americans as broadcaster Barbara Walters, film director Otto Preminger and Dr. Charles William Mayo.[5]
Callwood entered television journalism, hosting the series In Touch on CBC Television from 1975 to 1978. She also hosted two series, National Treasure and Caregiving with June Callwood, for Vision TV.
Callwood's career was marked by a strong concern for social justice, especially on issues affecting children and women. She became one of Canada's most famous social justice activists, founding or co-founding over 50 Canadian social action organizations including youth and women's hostels. She founded Casey House (a Toronto hospice for people with AIDS), PEN Canada, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and Feminists Against Censorship.[1]
In 1978, she was made a member of the Order of Canada. She was promoted to Officer in 1985, and promoted again to Companion in 2000.[6] In 1988, she was awarded the Order of Ontario. In 2004, the City of Toronto noted its intention to name a street in Callwood's honour. Callwood requested that an existing street not be renamed for her, and specified that it be a new or currently unnamed street near a school or a playground. The street is June Callwood Way and is in the neighbourhood of Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue.
In 2004, Callwood went public about her battle with cancer. She refused treatment and continued to be active, but ultimately succumbed to the disease in the morning of April 14, 2007. Callwood was last seen on TV on April 2, 2007 in the CBC show The Hour, interviewed by George Stroumboulopoulos.[4]
In July 2005, a Toronto park [7] was named after Callwood. A professorship in social justice was also established at Victoria College, University of Toronto in her honour.[8] A biography, written by Anne Dublin and entitled June Callwood: A Life of Action, was published in March 2007.
Callwood and Frayne had four children together: two daughters and two sons. The daughters are noted authors Jesse and Jill Frayne, and the elder son is Brant Frayne. The second son and youngest child, Casey Frayne, was killed on April 19, 1982, when he was 20 years old, by a drunk driver [9] on Highway 401 as he returned home from Queen's University. Callwood's death came only days before the 25th anniversary of her son's death.
Callwood had one sister, Jane Labbe (née Callwood) who lives with her husband Marcel Labbe in Northern Ontario.
Callwood had five grandchildren: Marie, Emma, Lucy, and Jack Manchester (children of Jesse); and Bree Fitzgerald (daughter of Jill).
Callwood obtained her pilot's licence in the late 1940s[1] and maintained the licence throughout her life.[4]
Callwood was an atheist throughout life. She stated in a very last interview that she still did not believe in God nor an afterlife, but instead believed in kindness.