Remembering Mr. Doug Moore
March 26, 2010

As you know, the flags at the College have been flying at half-mast all week in honour of Mr. Doug Moore, a long-time teacher here at HSC, who passed away following a skiing accident at Whistler on the weekend.  Mr. Moore began his teaching career at HSC in 1986, following a short stint as our artist-in-residence, and he taught art in the Middle and Senior Schools, as well as Philosophy and World Religions in the Senior School.  Mr. Moore was a highly creative, challenging and engaging teacher.  During his time at the College, he also developed our first online course, and he was the faculty advisor for the yearbook for many years.

Mr. Moore was a gifted artist.  He painted nine of the portraits of Senior Masters, Headmasters and Headmistresses hanging in Lawson Hall, and he had a remarkable ability to capture the essence of the person he painted.  In addition, he painted wonderfully evocative landscapes, many of Georgian Bay. 

Confined to a wheelchair for 35 years, Mr. Moore pursued a love of travel and adventure.  He travelled around the world several times, and explored the ‘nooks and crannies’ of Georgian Bay on a home-made raft with a motor.  The fact that the fatal accident occurred while he was skiing at Whistler is not as surprising as it might appear.  He was highly independent and adventurous, and refused to allow his disability to prevent him from living a full and exciting life.

Mr. Moore had been on leave for almost two years, but he is remembered fondly by many current students and alumni.  Since the announcement on Monday, I have received numerous emails from his former students and colleagues.  For example, former Headmaster, Mr. Bill Boyer, wrote to me expressing his sadness and the sadness of his family at Mr. Moore’s passing:

Doug meant a lot to the HSC community and beyond…I always respected him as a valued colleague and a passionate teacher. 

Similarly, an alumnus from 2003 emphasized that Mr. Moore was:   

A most inspiring and memorable teacher…I have often thought about him in the years following my graduation from HSC, and will always remember the guidance he so graciously gave to me as one of the most valued experiences of my adolescent life.

Another alumnus for the graduating class of 1993 who currently lives in Australia observed: 

I was a student of his at HSC just over 15 years ago.  And I still remember him with great fondness. 

Mr. Moore was a man who lived life fully and deliberately.  In the words of Henry David Thoreau, ‘he lived deep and sucked out all the marrow of life.”  In doing so, he was an inspiration to everyone with whom he came into contact.  As a teacher, one of his greatest gifts was his ability to encourage his students to see things, to see life, from different perspectives.  He challenged all of us to see things differently and to make the most of ourselves.  The words of the French novelist, Marcel Proust, come to mind:

The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes… We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.

Mr. Moore sought out new landscapes, as well as new ways of seeing and understanding the world.  Perhaps his greatest legacy will be that he provided countless students over the years with “new eyes,” while sharing with them some of the wisdom he had garnered on his life journey. 

Please join me in observing a moment of silence in memory of Mr. Doug Moore (1948-2010), artist, teacher and explorer. 

Note  The Memorial Service for Mr. Moore was held in the Artsplex Theatre at HSC on Saturday, March 27th 2010.