Edith Land

LAND, Edith Wyndham (née Eddis), formerly of Toronto. Peacefully from pneumonia in Georgetown Hospital on May 14, 2013, surrounded by her family. Survived in Georgetown by her husband Brian of 59 years and by her daughter Mary (Hugh Crowther) and by her grandson, Geoffrey John Land Crowther, to whom she was “Nonna”; by her son John (Barbara) Land of Kitchener; her brother the Rev. Charles (Nancy) Eddis of Montreal; her sister Joan Eddis (Aleksander Topolski) of Ottawa/Chelsea; by her sister Susan Eddis Crease Morales (Martin) of Toronto; by her cousin Michael Crease of Oakville; and by many nieces and nephews. A descendant of Maryland Loyalist William Eddis (author of Letters from America, 1792) and Dr. Donald Campbell Meyers, Canada’s first neurologist, Edith was born in Toronto on June 16, 1928, the daughter of Margaret Campbell Meyers and her husband Charles Sheppard Eddis and subsequently was stepdaughter of Nelson James Carlson. She graduated from Bishop Strachan School and Trinity College, University of Toronto, where she earned a B.A. degree, and from the U of T School of Social Work where she received her B.S.W. She practiced as a caseworker and group worker in children’s agencies over a ten-year period in Toronto, Windsor and Montreal. As President of the Armour Heights Ratepayers Association in Toronto in the 1970s, Edith made presentations to the Ontario Municipal Board as part of a successful effort to save the former York Downs Golf Club property from being developed for high-rise apartments and to have the land designated as parkland. It is now known as Earl Bales Park. Living in North York for 31 years with many neighbours who were Holocaust survivors had a profound effect on Edith. Active in her church and in interfaith activities, she served as a Lay Delegate to Synod for the Diocese of Toronto and on the Primate’s Advisory Group on Christian-Jewish Relations and was chosen to serve on the first executive committee of a new liaison organization connecting the Canadian Council of Churches, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Canadian Jewish Congress. During the 1980s, she represented the Canadian Council of Churches at the World Council of Churches’ Consultation on the Church and the Jewish People and was also at the International Council of Christians and Jews, attending meetings in Europe. As Executive Secretary of the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto from 1982 to 1991, she served concurrently as Coordinator of Interreligious Relations for the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews from 1982 to 1989. She also served for many years on Holocaust education committees in Toronto and later in Waterloo County. An active participant in Christian-Muslim relations, she also fostered relations with other non-Christian religions. During Toronto’s Sesquicentennial, she chaired a Mayor’s Committee of eight world religions that produced a children’s TV program and noon readings in Nathan Philips Square. For her work in Holocaust education and fostering interfaith relations, she was presented in 1991 with the national Anglican Award of Merit and in 2010 received the Order of Niagara from her home diocese. The family will receive friends at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home, Hart Chapel, 1099 Gordon Street, Guelph from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 16 (519-821-5077 or [email protected]). A service to celebrate Edith’s life will be held on Friday, May 17, at 11 a.m. at Saint Alban the Martyr Anglican Church in Glen Williams (537 Main Street, L7G 3T1). In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

A service to celebrate Edith’s life will be held on Friday, May 17, at 11 a.m. at Saint Alban the Martyr Anglican Church in Glen Williams (537 Main Street, L7G 3T1).