I met Alan through his spouse Norma
In 1969 , my husband and I came to Toronto, from the USA
at a fraught time of the Viet Nam war.
I met Norma at the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education., where we both worked.
Today I saw a women pushing a baby buggy
, and I was flooded with memories  of Alan & Norma’s kindness to us during this extreme
time for us…Alan’s little red ? Alfa Romero?
2 seater…..and the beautiful Christmas dinner they both cooked for us , an amazing absolute luxury baby buggy for our soon to be born baby.
We were so relieved they didn’t have the traditional ……Christmas tree !!or
any tree!! Today I was overcome with a tremendous Love for them…… I’m 80 now…….
This happens…… suddenly I realize so much love for someone from the past, when at the time….
This powerful love for them never occurred to me.
It’s quite odd, and with it comes all the very
real sense of the physicality…. I see their hands, face, hair, see them laugh, hear their voice, feel the air around us, their own scents,the touch of their clothes…..
So now ALL these many years later, and even after they are gone, this LOVE for them both remains with me ❤️🔥🌠

Alan and  I were colleagues at the University of  B.C.  He won a scholarship to the Sorbonne in Pariswhen Iwas unable to accept it.  We kept in touch during his career at the University of Toronto.  iwill miss him.  john  Ward

We knew Alan and Norma for many years, as my mother and Norma were first cousins.  We became closer to Alan after Norma's passing, and we thoroughly enjoyed our phone calls and emails to each other, and dinners both at our home and at his favourite restaurants.  

We only just heard of Alan's passing, and had been trying to reach him since December.  We regret that we were unable to attend his funeral.  He was a gentle, kind and generous soul with a great sense of humour, lively spirit, and self-deprecating air which always made us smile.  His modesty belied his intelligence, and it was always a pleasure to chat with him on so many levels.

Alan had a soft spot for our son Ivan, and often enquired about him during his battle with cancer last year.  Rest in peace, Alan, in the company of those you loved, and who have gone before you.  We will miss you.

Leo and Jackie Bagatto, Mississauga, Ontario

JAD has left his desk and made his final exit from the Library, leaving behind for friends and associates a lifetime of memories and recollections of the brilliant UBC undergrad who wowed his profs and won the prizes, of the quietly talented and always unassuming honnête homme of books, music, and, especially, meticulous erudition and patient scholarly research to which, in spite of frequent bouts of failing health in his later years, he devoted to the end his total attention as general editor of the monumental 15-volume correspondence of Mme de Graffigny. Modest to a fault, it was only with the greatest reluctance that he finally surrendered to the urgings of friends and professional peers and accepted the signal honour of his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, our nation's premier Academy, agreeing to view it as an award as much to his co-équipiers on the Graffigny team as to himself.
Truly one of a kind. Farewell dear friend.
Larry Bongie, FRSC

I and all my colleagues at the Voltaire Foundation who came into contact with Alan are deeply saddened to hear he has passed away. As General editor of the Correspondance de Mme de Graffigny, Alan steered this exemplary edition (that has been described as a ‘model of erudition' by one reviewer) towards its spectacular 15-volume conclusion. As well as being known here for having impeccable scholarly standards, Alan had a wonderful way with words and people. He was a lively and popular correspondent, across the Atlantic via email, through which his unfailing good nature and charm shone through.

C'est avec beaucoup de tristesse que nous venons d'apprendre le décès d'Alan. Nous garderons à jamais le souvenir d'un homme remarquable par sa gentillesse, sa modestie et sa parfaite maîtrise de la langue française.
Alan, we will miss you very much.
Madeleine and Michel Zaffarano

C'est avec une grande tristesse que nous venons d'apprendre le décès d'Alan. Nous garderons à jamais le souvenir d'un homme remarquable par sa gentillesse, sa modestie et sa parfaite maîtrise de la langue française. 
Alan, we will miss you very much.

I am so sorry I did not hear about the service for Alan until it was over though I am sure there were many people there.  Alan and Norma were long-time owners at my condominium building..  Even as a non-resident owner, Alan had an interest in making sure the condominium was a community in which all views were heard, and this interest continued after he moved in. I could always rely on his support. I am among the many who will miss him.

Alan and Norma were our neighbours. Wonderful people! May they both be blessed as they rest in peace.
Blessings,
Neighbours, Shauna and Michael Gundy

There is no way to measure Alan's contribution to the world of scholarship, and there are no words to say how sad we are to imagine that world without him. But what will stay with us, and soften that sadness, is the memory of his wit, his generosity, and his unwavering belief both in his friends and in the absolute necessity of getting things right.

I remember fondly the many evenings I spent at the Graffigny Project as a research assistant, on the then-deserted 14th floor of Robarts Library, in the company of Norma and Alan Dainard. Norma would arrive around 5 pm with Alan's dinner or they would arrive together if the weather was treacherous (and on those occasions Alan went to pick her up), and they would stay there until 11 pm. Norma tended to the plants, read and chatted with me, while Alan answered email and dealt with some of the easier parts of editing. From time to time, Alan would print an email that he received from family members or friends, and they would talk about it at length. Whenever I asked questions about Mme de Graffigny, he kindly shared with me all that he knew. He dedicated over 30 years to the Graffigny Project and his silent commitment to the edition of entertaining, intimate and revealing letters written by an Enlightenment woman to her Lorraine friend during the eighteenth century is to be commended.

For me, Alan stood for two scholarly ideals - generous collegiality and rigorous editorial principles.  I have held both of these dear for the many years since I worked for Alan, and I am immensely grateful to have known him.  M.C.

Alan and I worked closely together for at least 15 years as library reps, responsible for retrospective acquisitions in French for Robarts, in its most expansive and best funded years. I think we made a good team, building on existing strengths. We had adjacent offices on B staircase, and it was in my office that, just back from Yale, he announced for the first time, I believe, the monumental idea of editing the Graffigny correspondance. While sad at this news, it is cheering to know that this project is so near to completion: I know from many dix-huitieme friends how valuable this edition is already and will remain.
Graham Falconer (Oxford, UK)

   I also mourn at the sudden loss of a dear old friend; life will not be the same without him. 
   I first became acquainted with Alan over forty years ago, when as a graduate student I was assigned to help him acquire books for the University of Toronto's collection in French literature. As it happened, that year I had found a small flat on Bernard Avenue, just up the street from the house where he and Norma lived. Over diners and conversation  we became fast friends, and from that time to this, through my years at Toronto and Oxford, and in different university positions, I have had the benefit of his counsel on academic matters of all kinds. His dedication to his main area of research, the letters of Mme de Graffigny, was exemplary in itself.
   No less important, at major turning points in my personal life, whether we met up again in Paris or Toronto -- or over the telephone -- he was always willing to listen before giving me, in his thoughtful and understated way, counsel and encouragement. Together with his irrepressible and inimitable but equally wonderful Norma, Alan always offered kindness, hospitality, and support.
   This brief tribute can hardly reflect the debt I feel I owe them both: Norma I have missed for some years now; Alan this dark December I too miss already.

On behalf of the University of Toronto's University College, where Alan was a colleague for many years, I'd like to offer my condolences.  

Donald Ainslie, Principal

Dear Cuz, so many memories of our many Christmas family dinners in Golden, and later our times in Toronto, dinners with Norma at your favourite Italian restaurant, and your friendship with Roger, Stuart and Lela. Your wonderful emails will be missed. Much love,  Lorraine, Stuart and Lela

We had so many laughs and so many great discussions. You are deeply missed already. No one enjoyed our travel photos as much as you, Alan. I will miss our constant emails!

I was introduced to Alan through his beloved wife Norma in 2001, at the time I was part time employee at Robert Library and a student at University of Toronto as well.   Then, we were so connected felt like  family members. I remember their offer of support both financially and morally.  Both Alan and Norma were great personalities, very kind, helpful, and supportive. May glory God rest their souls in peace, however life is short, but both Alan and Norma's good memories will be lasting long, and they both will be remembered and will be alive in our hearts and minds.  God Bless them. 
Qahar Andisha (qahar.andisha@utoronto.ca)

OBITUARY

Mr. J. Alan Dainard

26 May, 1930 – 19 December, 2014

Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home & Chapel

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