Michael Edward Brookfield

Michael Edward Brookfield, born on June 8, 1944, in Carmarthan, Wales (Caerfyrddin, or “Merlin’s Fort” in Welsh), passed away peacefully in Guelph on the evening of February 4, 2026, leaving behind a legacy of scientific achievement and family devotion.

Michael (Mike) started his life with travel and adventure that was to stick with him his whole life. As a toddler he moved with his parents Frank and Cordelia (Bunny) and his younger sister to Kenya, where his father worked for the Magadi Soda Company. He often recalled his early memories of living by the salt lake and flamingos of lake Magadi, riding a rhinoceros, and going away to boarding school. He also survived an early childhood illness thought at the time, wrongly, to be polio. The family then moved to Scotland, where his father worked for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), and Michael and Helen acquired an education, although not a Scottish accent.

Michael was close to his sister while growing up and thereafter. They had their own adventures, including going together to Switzerland when Helen won a prize and took her older brother along. They stayed close throughout their lives, until Helen died on May 4, 1991, leaving her two children Matthew and Susie Hulley. Despite separation across the Atlantic, Michael brought his family to visit to the UK frequently, where the cousins played together and had great adventures on the Solway, catching minnows and running on the sand.

Michael had a passion for science and experimentation from an early age. He blew up glass houses with nitroglycerin, used pellet guns to sink models of battleships, brought hydrochloric acid home in his backpack, made toxic gas by accident causing an evacuation of the house, and built a Meccano crossbow (no longer available!). But his true passion was geology – walking over the heath to collect rocks and look at interesting outcrops in high mountain ranges. Mike’s passion for geology was an ever-present guiding light in everything he did for the rest of his life. He studied geology first at Edinburgh University, then pursued a doctorate at Reading University.

It was in Reading that Michael met the love of his life, Kathleen (Kate) Brookfield. They were married in 1968, a marriage of devotion and shared adventure that was to last over 57 years. Their first adventure was moving from England to Canada in 1969 via CP Cruise ship when Michael began his teaching career as a professor of geology at the University of Guelph. In Guelph, they met new lifelong friends and colleagues, too many to mention, save for a special lifelong friendship with Mary and Tony Salvadori.

The Canadian adventure was the tip of the iceberg when it came to Michael and Kate’s adventures. Together they lived in Cambridge, England; Chandigarh, India; and Taipei, Taiwan. Their travels took them from the Soviet Union to the Caribbean, Egypt, Australia, and the West Coast of Canada, and many places in between. In later years they were particular fans of “repositioning” cruises, where they would fly to the Caribbean to get on a cruise to Europe, often to visit friends and family in the UK along the way. Their joint adventure came to a conclusion when Kate passed away, 2 months before Michael.

Michael also had many adventures on his own, usually pursuing his love of geology. When planning vacations, interesting rocks or sediments were a requirement of the destination, which is why he never considered Disneyland for a vacation. He enjoyed teaching youth of all ages about his passion, notably his students at the University of Guelph where he taught for 38 years. But “the field” was where he thrived, tramping up mountains and through remote valleys to look at rocks, take samples, and learn about local culture. He loved to take anyone who would listen into the field with him, from toddler to graduate student, and had a knack for storytelling and sharing his knowledge. Wherever he went he studied the local geology, from Scotland to Canada. The Himalayas were special for him, capturing his focus for most of his professional career. In dozens of harrowing, dangerous, and often downright reckless trips, he explored the regions, connected with the locals and advanced the body of work on the Geology of the area. We recently discovered that Michael had a hand in dedicating an area in India to be protected due to the geological importance of the area. His brother-in-law Druvasingha (then Harry) credits one of those trips with “changing his life”, due to the trip being a catalyst for his conversion to Buddhism. Michael retired from the University of Guelph in 2008, but this did not slow down his dedication to his work. He continued to work with colleagues around the world, through associations with Academia Sinica (Taipei), the University of Massachusetts, and the University of Texas at Austin. Upon his death, he had almost 150 publications to his name, had been cited in academic papers or texts over 6,000 times, and was still working on another paper. In the weeks before he died, he continued to correspond with colleagues around the world, from the US to India to China. And dozens of people from all corners of the world continued to read his papers (and continue still, after his passing).

Michael was father to two children, Robert and Caroline. Despite his best efforts by taking many photos of them (as “scale”) next to rock cuttings on their trips, neither followed his path into geology. He was loving and supportive for their other interests, from childhood into their adult lives. He also very much enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren Liam, Amelia, and Cole. The grandchildren and other neighbours and friends enjoyed reading the incredible but true “Tales from Grandpa Mike” that chronicled many of his adventures.

Michael followed his wife Kathleen into the Baha’i faith, where he found much community and love from the Guelph and Puslinch communities. A highlight of his later years was attending the Sunday devotional prayer meetings with Kate.

Michael may have seemed quiet in gatherings, but always friendly and curious about the people he met. Mike was inclusive of all cultures, religions and lifestyles, and was a fierce supporter of justice and empathy. He enjoyed finding out about each person he met, to ask about their country and culture, and inevitably had stories about his travel or colleagues he knew in the city or country. His style of humour tended to bad puns and some off colour jokes (Monty Python and the 1950s Goon Show were particular favourites), but always from a place of fun and love for humanity. One of his favourite jokes was to say “Ethiopia” as a goodbye, as it had been renamed from “Abyssinia” which sounds like “I’ll be seeing you”. This type of joke was a reflection of Michael’s deep learning about culture, art, and history. He often read biographies and historical novels, visited museums and watched documentaries to learn about the world around him.

Michael loved music, especially Opera, and played piano for much of his life after being self-taught as a child. In his few days at Hospice Wellington, he was soothed by the harp melodies of the resident musician Catherine Manning. His family didn’t like opera, so they often badgered him into playing their own pop music on cassette tapes on long car rides.

Michael was truly a passionate explorer who shared his passion with his family. Both Robert and Caroline and family have continued to travel far and wide like Michael, but without the rocks and the harrowing bush plane and helicopter rides. Michael seemed to have 9 lives, and used each one of them to the fullest, not fearing death but loving life. Two weeks before his passing, despite a fading body from cancer, he was hopeful to take a cruise trip from the Bahamas to Europe, and a trip to Calgary. His optimism, generosity, tenacity and stoicism helped him to live a full life.

Michael is survived by his children Robert and Caroline, his grandchildren Liam, Amelia, and Cole, his nephew Matthew and niece Susie, and his wife’s siblings Janet, Ratnamayi, and John. He is predeceased by his wife Kate, his sister Helen and brothers in law Edwin and Malcolm.

Michael was buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery in a small ceremony following the practices of the Baha’i faith, with friends and family and the supportive and loving Baha’i community. A celebration of life is being planned for spring 2026.