Leonard (Len) FINDLAY 14/12/1944 - 25/05/2023 FINDLAY, Leonard (Len), Murray, Aberdeen, December 14, 1944, to Saskatoon, Canada, May 25, 2023. Another accomplished Torry loon has passed, peacefully at home, attended by loving family and friends. Len was the second child of George and Irene (nee Black). Findlay, predeceased by his brother George (Lorna) and survived by brother Ian (Elaine (nee Harris), Naomi and Natalie and families and sister Irene (Gauld), Ken (deceased), and Jenny (Kevin Kemp) and Martyn. In Canada Len is survived by his wife of 54 years, fellow academic Isobel (nee Downie) and by sons Andrew and Nick. He is also survived by in-laws Bill and Sandra (nee Reid) Downie, in Bromley and Ian and Kate (nee Slessor) Downie, in Oldmeldrum and their respective families (Alan (Zoe), Jill (Ross McCallum), and Emma and Alison (David Latto) and Barclay and their families. Growing up on Glenbervie Road with lifelong friends, Len proved a gifted student and talented footballer (Walker Road F.C.) and rugby player (Aberdeen Academy). Len excelled at Aberdeen University where he won the Seafield Gold Medal and went on to complete a D.Phil. in Victorian literature at Jesus College, Oxford. After coming to Canada in 1974 he enjoyed a distinguished career as a teacher, scholar, and academic activist, including simultaneous tenure as the Chair of the national professorial Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee and President of Academy One (Arts and Humanities) of the Royal Society of Canada. In retirement from the University of Saskatchewan, he continued publishing and policy work, and he remained an active Senior Fellow of The Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University and a loyal fan of Scottish rugby. Len loved coaching his sons' soccer teams into their teen years, volunteering at Saskatoon French School, getting to know his sons' friends, cheering from the sidelines at rugby and soccer games, walking our dogs (Abby, Ceilidh, and Nick's Howie), cooking, conversation, and travel. Entertaining friends and family in our home was a special delight, including Burns suppers and New Year's parties. He relished fly fishing in northern Saskatchewan, including fabled fly-in trips, publishing and presenting at international conferences with Isobel, and shared vacations with Canadian friends and UK family in Canada (from coast to coast), Cuba, Barbados, Cyprus, and across Europe, celebrating family weddings in London, Larne, Limoges, and Aberdeen, as well as glorious family gatherings in Carrbridge in the Cairngorms and Weardale in County Durham. An award has been endowed in Len's name at the Canadian Association of University Teachers: the Len Findlay Award in Critical Race Theory, Decolonization, and Academic Freedom. An informal celebration of his life will be held in Aberdeen, at the Ferryhill House Hotel, on August 24, 2023, from 2pm to 5pm (program at 3pm). All welcome. Come and share your memories!

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