Alan Bond HOCKIN

Alan Bond Hockin, born November 7, 1923 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, passed away on March 24, 2015 in Nanaimo, BC.  Survived by his cherished wife, Esther (née Henry), their children, Jeremy (Pat), Gillian (Rob), Nicholas, and Jonathan (Tash), ten grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way.  Also survived by his only niece, Janice (Morten) and their children, daughter-in-law, Nicola, and by many dear cousins.

Alan was a man of faith, accomplishment, honour and integrity. His grandfather, Arthur Hockin was a Methodist minister who immigrated to Nova Scotia from Cornwall, England.  His father Harold Hockin was a WWI veteran who worked as an accountant for the Grain Exchange in Winnipeg.  Alan was valedictorian for his high school.  He received a BA in Economics from the University of Manitoba and an MA from the University of Toronto.  Alan worked for Mitchell Sharp in the Department of Finance in Ottawa from 1945-1969, eventually as Assistant Deputy Minister.  He was a junior clerk in the delegation that brought Newfoundland into Confederation in 1949.  Alan also served as financial attaché at Canada House in London, England, and was from there seconded to join the first Canadian delegation to NATO from 1950-1953.  He served as a financial advisor to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC from 1957-1959.  He also served at various times on the Trilateral Commission, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.  In 1969, Alan retired from the Finance Department and, after a year at Morgan Stanley in New York, accepted the position of Executive Vice President at Toronto-Dominion Bank in Toronto, where he served from 1970-1984.  After retiring from the bank, Alan was approached by York University to be Dean of its Business School, a position he held for a five year term. After his term at the university ended, Alan joined Sentinel Consultants in Toronto, eventually retiring and moving out to Nanoose Bay, BC in September, 2000.

Alan had a great love for the arts. He met Esther in Ottawa in 1946 at a rehearsal of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, where she was the lead soprano and he was a tenor in the chorus. He would often play piano accompaniment for her solo performances around Ottawa.  They enjoyed attending concerts and plays, as well as museum and art gallery exhibits, throughout their 62 years of marriage. They hardly missed a season at both Stratford and Shaw.

Alan was always interested in his extended family’s whereabouts and doings, accomplishments, and general news of cousins and lineages.  Family mattered.  Nothing brought Alan more joy than being in harmonious community, with lively conversation, excellent food & wine, much singing and laughter, and heartfelt connections.  He was a great conversationalist, with a wealth of ideas and an amazing memory for details and information. Into his late eighties he was still reading four newspapers a day, as well as keeping up his subscriptions to newsmagazines and keeping in touch with family and friends. Alan was considerate and generous, and a gracious host. He went out of his way to put things in place so that community could happen, whether it be gathering people together for lunch after church, hosting a drop-in party for 80 family and friends annually on New Year's day, arranging for all the siblings scattered across the continent to gather together for Christmas.

A Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, April 4, 2015 at St. Anne & St. Edmund Anglican Church, 407 Wembley Road, Parksville, BC.  A Memorial Service will also be held in Toronto, Ontario at a later date.

In keeping with Alan's wishes, the family has requested no flowers.  Instead, please considering honouring Alan's memory by making a donation in his name to the Canadian Cancer Society, Unit E, 777 Poplar Street, Nanaimo, BC  V9S 2H7; the St Anne & St Edmund Anglican Church, 407 Wembley Road, Parksville, BC  V9P 2B2 Christ Church Cathedral and Dominion-Chalmers in Ottawa, Ontario, or the St. Paul's Anglican, Bloor Street, in  Toronto, Ontario.