John Morrow Godfrey (June 28, 1912 – March 8, 2001) was a Canadian pilot, lawyer and politician.

Education

Godfrey was born in

Port Credit, Ontario Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road, ...

. He was educated at the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

in 1929 and at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

Career

During the Second World War, Godfrey was a pilot and

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

in the United Kingdom and France. After the war, he was a named partner in the law firm of Campbell, Godfrey and Lewtas (now Fasken Martineau DuMoulin). He was a

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

for the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

. In 1973, he was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

representing the senatorial division of

Rosedale, Ontario Rosedale is a Dispersed Rural Community and unincorporated place located in the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada, north-west of Lindsay. It is partly in geographic Fenelon Township The Township of Fenelon was a municipality in present ...

. A Liberal, he retired on his 75th birthday in 1987.

Family

Wife

Mary Godfrey (née Ferguson) was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, where she later attended

Bishop Strachan School The Bishop Strachan School (BSS) is an Anglican day and boarding school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school has approximately 950 students, including 70 boarding students, ranging from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 (approximately ...

for girls. Mary then went on to study at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and she began her business career soon after. John and Mary met when John was attending Osgoode Hall Law School. The couple married in 1940 while John was in the air force during World War II. Throughout her life, Mary was very involved in the community through various committees, boards, and volunteer work. Mary believed that there should be a good balance of culture and welfare work in one's life. The cultural work that Mary did included being a member of the National Ballet Committee as she hoped to see development of ballet in Canada. She was also on the Opera Festival Women's Committee of Toronto and was appointed president of the committee in June 1958. The welfare work that Mary did included volunteering at the Toronto General Hospital, being a member of the Junior League, as well as being on the advisory board of the Women's Auxiliary.

Son

John Godfrey John Ferguson Godfrey (December 19, 1942 – December 18, 2023) was a Canadian educator, journalist and politician who served as a member of Parliament from 1993 to 2008. Background Godfrey was born in Toronto, Ontario on December 19, 1942. ...

is a former Member of Parliament, cabinet minister, historian and economist. He is one of John and Mary Godfrey's four children which include two boys and two girls.

References

* *"A Gallery of Women". ''The Globe and Mail.'' March 5, 1959. WA14 Long, Elizabeth. Series 4: Biographies of Women. File 192 Godfrey, Mary.
John Morrow Godfrey fonds

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, John Morrow 1912 births 2001 deaths Lawyers in Ontario Canadian senators from Ontario People from Mississauga Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian World War II pilots Royal Canadian Air Force officers Royal Military College of Canada alumni 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada