For those who cannot attend in person you are invited to attend virtually via live stream: https://foveo.stream/beechwood/paul-puritt
Paul Puritt was born at St. Luc Hospital in Montreal on 28 July 1938. He passed away peacefully at the Ottawa General Hospital on the evening of 23 December 2022 at the age of 84.
Paul’s warm personality, charisma, wit, and sharp intellect touched many people throughout his long life. He loved telling jokes and stories, wordplay of all kinds, crossword puzzles, and bamboozling kids and adults alike with his signature penny trick. He read voraciously and held strong views on the ethical, social, and political issues of the day.
He obtained his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Illinois, with a dissertation on the Meru People of Tanzania, and then taught at several universities in the USA and Canada. As a member of TCLSAC Toronto, CIDMAA Montreal, and as regional director at Oxfam, he played an active role mobilizing Canadian civil society in support of national liberation movements in Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.
In the mid-80s, Paul joined the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) as project planner in the International Department, where he collaborated with trade unions first in Africa, and later in Asia and the Middle East, leaving an indelible mark as a popular trade union educator and leader. He oversaw projects aimed at abolishing child labour, promoting gender equity, and advancing labour rights. Throughout his working years, Paul developed many lifelong friendships and kept in touch with numerous friends around the world.
He was loved by many and will be missed by many, particularly Anna, his partner of twenty years, his sons and their wives, Edan and Judy, Jeffrey and Annette, his step-son Jan and Rav, as well as his 6 grandchildren Alicia, Calvin (Ksenia), Daniel (Kenzie), Joseph (Nicki), Alexa, Nathan (Serena), and his great-grandson Matteo. He will also be sadly missed by his siblings, Larry (Betty), Fredda, Marlene (Antony), Howard (Jackie), and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
The family is deeply grateful to the nursing staff of the Acute Monitoring Area (AMA) of the Ottawa General Hospital for their attentive and compassionate care of Paul, as well as to his doctors.
Reflecting Paul’s wishes, a memorial party to celebrate his long and rich life will be held on February 4, 2023 from 12:00pm to 3:00pm.
Click here to register to the live stream: https://foveo.stream/beechwood/paul-puritt
Donations in Paul’s memory may be made to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind or the Center for Macular Research at the University of British Columbia.
Digital Guestbook
Chris Rosene
Carleen and Ron Ridley
Although we did not know Paul, we are deeply saddened for you Anna, as you move forward to what life has in store for you, without your soulmate at your side. Sending warm hugs.
بول بيوريت العزيز Paul…
بول بيوريت العزيز
Paul taught me many words , jokes and was very generous to share his knowledge with me , our long friendship started with a fight that turned to a rich and beautiful relation that linked both the Canadian and Palestinian labour movements
Thank you Paul , you will remain in my mind and heart , you will be missed
Charles Taylor
He was such an affirmative and positive person; e raised the morale of everyone around him. He will be sorely missed
Lawrence S. Cumming
I remember Paul with great fondness as one of my colleagues at Oxfam-Canada in the early eighties. He was highly intelligent, passionate about the cause, deeply informed about his region and the activists with whom we worked, a comrade and and team member with all of us -- and very funny, to boot. They dont' make them like that any more! RIP, Paul
Susan White
Paul was a colleague of mine at Oxfam whom I deeply respected. We shared a commitment to supporting the freedom struggle in South Africa. I am so impressed, but not surprised, to see all he accomplished after we went our separate ways. A life well lived.
Linda Freeman
Paul was such a good friend - enjoyable company and a great sense of humour. His joie de vivre and sense of adventure was memorable. As was his irreverent attitude to great and small. He was the first to read my drafts and to guide my thinking - a generous supporter of my work even as his own was so far reaching - moving from a passionate involvement in Africa to a fascination with the Middle East. His life blossomed with you, Anna, and your time together was a comfort to old friends.
Charles and Aube Taylor
We would wish to register for the streaming moment of gathering on Sunday?
George and Corinne Yee
We knew Paul from Tai-Chi. He was always so friendly and greeted all of us in the Tai-Chi session, that we soon found ourselves drawn to him. At times, we exchanged philosophical views. Paul would always have a witty reply. We also heard him say many times how lucky he was to have Anna. We can tell from Paul's obituary, that his life was a life well-lived.
Larry J Platt
I loved Paul. I still do. I just finished re-reading the over 1300 emails we have exchanged in the past 15 years. I hear his voice and, often, see his boyish grin as I read what he wrote. I knew Paul long before emails. We met almost 50 years ago at a Family Seminar when I was a Special Graduate Student in Anthropology at the University of Toronto trying to learn about the relation of family to health events. He was a professor there at that time. The seminar met every Sunday for about 8 months, each participant presenting his or her family with photos, films, drawings, maps and trees. No one ever missed a session. They were too interesting as families all are. And the discussions left us all pretty close. I left Toronto but Paul kept in touch. He was good at that. And I tried to keep up.
In reviewing the emails, some themes came through. The most common one was a plea to come visit. We lived thousands of miles apart but enjoyed each other’s company so much that we longed to be neighbors. There were other themes: health status updates, reports about trips, relationships and family. He talked often about Anna and how much she meant to him. And about the many visits to Anna’s family “cabage”. Cabage was one of many Paul neologisms, which he explained this way: “a cabin has an outdoor long drop toilet. A cottage has indoor plumbing. Anna's place has both.” And most of all regarding the trips to the cottage, noting the device he floated on in the water and the many blood donations he made to the mosquitos and black flies there.
Paul was multilingual. He taught me that the word that Tarzan shouts as he swings on vines through the jungle, “Ingawa!” means “although” in Swahili. He made me aware of the phrase used by Angolans fighting for freedom from the Portuguese: La lutte continua, the struggle continues. His “lutte” is over but I believe that it gave meaning to his life.
I was privileged to know Paul, to banter and share thoughts with him, to share too little time with him. Asante, Paul. I miss you so much.
My late wife Sheila Katz would have been sad to see Paul go, but she would also have enjoyed sharing a laugh with him. For my part, I remember Paul visiting us in Mozambique some 40 years ago. Good memories!