Carroll Allen Dale

Born in Oxbow Saskatchewan on May 24, 1927, daughter of William (Glen) and Harriet Allen, Carroll grew up in the prairie railway station houses that her father managed. The Great Depression shaped her values: the homeless men who rode the rails for work and were welcomed to the family table, and her father’s participation in the founding of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, were life-long influences on her sense of social justice and fairness. She broke molds for women in many ways, including as one of the first few women members of the Toronto Press Club, and as a founding volunteer of the Jean Tweed Centre. She wrote as a young journalist for the Toronto Telegram, the Globe & Mail and later as a freelancer for a variety of publications, including Chatelaine Magazine and Homemakers Magazine. She worked as a ghostwriter and editor; food editor; cookbook writer and as editor of Recipes Only. She taught journalism at Ryerson Polytechnic (now University), where magazine writing was her specialty. She won several National Magazine Awards and mentored countless budding writers. She died suddenly and peacefully at 7pm on April 5th, 2016 at Christie Gardens, surrounded by all her remaining family: daughters Lisa Carroll Allen Dale, Amanda Barbara Allen Dale, their partners, grandchildren Robyn Andrea Dale Ellis and Adrian Michael Dale Ellis, and their partners. Carroll’s life was marked by a series of personal tragedies, including the youthful deaths of her two sons, Matthew Martin Allen Dale, and Jamie Frederick Allen Dale; the loss to breast cancer of her adored niece, Gail Allen (Chambers), and the tragic loss of her adored nephew, Glen Allen. Their brother, nephew Gene Allen, survives her. Carroll outlived her greatly admired siblings: the brothers who died when she was a young woman, writer and editor Ralph Allen, and accountant, John Allen, and sister, Barbara Kathleen Allen (Leacy), who died in 2012. Despite decades of separation, Carroll still felt closest to her deceased husband, H. Frederick Dale, garden columnist for the Toronto Star, and has requested her ashes be interred with him. The immediate family will mark her passing quietly and privately. Donations can be sent to the Jean Tweed Centre or PEN Canada in her honour.