Wilfred Slater.Picasa/Courtesy of family
Wilfred Slater: Husband. Father. Journalist. Gentleman. Born March 5, 1930, in Thorold, Ont.; died Jan. 27, 2020, in Mississauga, Ont.; of heart failure; aged 89.
Wilfred Slater’s favourite catch-phrase was “Sobeit” (one word, not to be confused with the three-word clause). It reflected his faith and pragmatism.
Wilf’s sister Doreen was surprised by his resilience when she received an anniversary card from him, only a week after his beloved wife, Huguette, died in 2014. How did he remember, during such a trying time? Wilf replied: “Life goes on.”
Life for Wilf began in the town of Thorold, Ont., in the Niagara Escarpment. His first job in journalism was as the town reporter for the St. Catharines Standard and, over the years, became its unofficial historian. Wilf had a stunning memory for facts and anecdotes that never left him.
As a young man, Wilf met Huguette Nadeau, whose father owned a jewellery store in St. Catharines. Huguette picked out a diamond from her dad’s shop (no discount!) and they were married in 1955.
In 1959, Wilf received a job offer from The Globe and Mail, and the couple moved to Toronto. Their daughter Christine was born a year later. Wilf made sure to instil his love of quick-witted language and all things English. From a very early age, they played games of Hangman and Scrabble and, in a house filled with dictionaries, almanacs, atlases and encyclopedia, always looked things up. The roles were somewhat reversed in later life when Christine showed Wilf the benefits of Google.
He spent the rest of his career at The Globe. Among other roles, Wilf was the city editor but made his deepest mark managing layout and content. He was a stickler for detail and accuracy. In 1969, he worked on the proper wording of the front-page headline for the lunar landing. One editor wanted “Men on Moon” because there were three astronauts, but Wilf countered that “Man on Moon” reflected the historical import of the event. Wilf prevailed. The front page was framed and hung on the wall in the newsroom. Wilf enjoyed pointing out that the type in that headline was dark green instead of black – to account for the apocryphal myth that the moon is made of cheese.
The Globe and Mail front page for July 21, 1969, which Slater helped work on.The Globe and Mail
He loved working at The Globe but when retirement beckoned in 1994, he did not look back. He read the paper faithfully – up to, and including, the morning of his death. He continued to contribute articles and communicate (helpfully, wittily but also bluntly) when he felt things went awry.
During retirement, Wilf enjoyed travelling and “living.”
In 2013, after 55 years in the same house, he and Huguette moved to a condo on Lake Ontario, which they loved, and in which he stayed after her death, keeping company with his cat Livvie.
He loved hockey (he was the goalie on the Ontario Midget B championship team of 1945), big bands, musical theatre and Peter Sellers.
Wilf was full of life and good humour and, at 85, travelled to the American West with Christine and went rafting down the Snake River in Wyoming. He enjoyed plays at the Stratford and Shaw Festivals and was a ticket holder to the Toronto Symphony. He gave up driving at the age of 88.
The final weeks of his life were spent in hospital. Even in decline, he was a gentleman, shaking the hands of those who cared for him.
Wilf always loved banter, wordplay and arcane facts and the people who could keep up with him. This never left him.
Sobeit.
Christine Slater is Wilf’s daughter.
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