Gwenlyn Setterfield, 82Kelsey Mason
Mother, grandmother, arts administrator, Renaissance woman. Born June 9, 1934, in Halifax; died Sept. 13, 2016, in Toronto, of natural causes, aged 82.
Gwenlyn Setterfield was a witness to and influence on Canada's artistic coming of age. But we met Gwenlyn in her retirement, at a creative-writing course at Ryerson University, and that's how we came to know Gwenlyn and to love her.
Without doubt, her maxim, "Deep breaths and get on with it," stemmed from her childhood. Born to British-immigrant parents in Nova Scotia, her father's Canadian military career dictated a life of duty and extensive travel for Gwenlyn and her beloved older brother, George. By Grade 9, she had attended 12 schools. At 17, she left her parents in Ottawa and moved to Vancouver to attend University of British Columbia, where she achieved a BA in economics.
At 20, she married Robert Creech, a classical musician. Their first daughter Julia was born in Toronto and then Andrea, Pam and Erica arrived on the scene in Vancouver. She taught her daughters to always stand up for themselves. They all followed Gwenlyn with successful careers in the arts, education and administration.
Gwenlyn's writing revealed her love of family and belief in women's rights. She wrote humorous stories about raising her daughters in the macramé years of the 1960s and 70s – what a turn around from her proper British upbringing. She was also an active community member, involved in school bake sales, the Ban the Bomb movement and left-wing politics.
The family ended up in London, Ont. Taking deep breaths in 1980, when no one in Toronto would take on the debut performance of R. Murray Schafer's monumental Apocalypsis, Gwenlyn organized 500 performers, six choruses, four instrument groups and seven conductors. It was a "spectacular event," according to reviews, in celebration of the city's 125th anniversary.
Her marriage ended, and as love would have it, she met Phillip Albert Heiland on a Via train. They went on to enjoy a life of love, travel, music and art together.
After moving to Toronto, she worked at the Ontario Arts Council, where she helped to establish financial stability for
Ontario orchestras. Later, as executive director of the OAC, she steered a demoralized Council through an era of tough government budget cuts. Everything that she loved had to be slashed. Working with both funders and artists, she recognized that vibrant programs enhanced communities of all sizes, and that behind every program was a group of people who wanted to say something, to challenge, to engage an audience.
In retirement, she wrote a biography of Nicholas Goldschmidt, founder and director of many
Canadian music festivals because (deep breaths) it needed to be done. She continued to travel, volunteer in her church, shop for the best shoes and share her stories with our writing group. When one of our members passed away, Gwenlyn helped us publish a book of our friend's stories for her family.
She remained socially and politically au courrant, and her
intellectual rigour often steered our discussions into passionate debates.
Gwenlyn was one of a kind, in all in the best ways. Her ageless ability to connect with people allowed for an especially loving, fun relationship with her grandchildren. She proudly circulated her granddaughter's latest blog posts amongst the group.
She died after a week in Stratford, Ont., visiting one of her daughters. She saw four plays, ate great meals, bought some stylish clothes and enjoyed a spa day.
Lynn Pearson and Rose Zgodzinski are friends from Gwenlyn's writing group.