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The Eastern Townships is mourning the loss of James Ferrabee, internationally renowned journalist and a valued and respected member of the Townships community.
Ferrabee, 72, died last Friday at the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke of complications from a respiratory illness.  COURTESY: BISHOP'S UNIVERSITY Jim Ferrabee unveiling the Bishop’s stamp in 2003.
In recent months, the former Gazette business editor published a book that paid tribute to the trail-blazing MacDougall family of Montreal, documenting the instrumental role the family played in the development of Montreal’s business sector over the past century and a half. Ferrabee was enthusiastic about the work and eager for Montrealers and others to celebrate the accomplishments of this outstanding family.
A graduate of Bishop’s University (1957), Ferrabee remained close to his alma mater serving as vice-president and president of the Bishop’s University Corporation. He headed the university’s foundation for 10 years, and was one of the institutions most distinguished and effective ambassadors. He cared deeply for the small, liberal arts university and had a special affinity for students who attended it, remembering the names of a remarkable number of students he handed diplomas to each convocation, and reveled in hearing stories of their success after leaving the university.
“I had the privilege of working with Jim at The Gazette where he was much admired for his professionalism, his humanity and his joie de vivre,” said Michael Goldbloom, a former publisher of the Gazette and current principal of Bishop’s University. Goldbloom said Ferrabee loved Bishop’s, and together with his Diane of 50 years, welcomed Goldbloom to the Townships when he was named principal, and imbued in him an infectious enthusiasm for Bishop’s University.
Reed Scowen, a fellow Townshipper and Quebec’s former agent general to London and New York, was a longtime friend of Ferrabee and his wife DI for many years. “We saw each other regularly when we lived in the UK in the late 80s,” Scowen said on the weekend. “Jim as correspondent for Southam, myself as Quebec’s Agent General. Jim had that always curious but balanced mind that one occasionally encounters among journalists working at the very highest level. And he was courteous, kind and very knowledgeable. Add to all that an interest in big issues like the economic conditions in East Africa and little things, like getting the church roof fixed, and you have a person who is very useful to have around. A lot of people, myself included, are going to miss him greatly.”
Ferrabee enjoyed an outstanding career as a journalist which garnered accolades and took him and his family to London UK for a stint with the Reuters News agency, then as Southam’s foreign correspondent to Paris, Kenya and Nairobi, where he fell in love with Africa, and to the Middle East. During an illustrious career that traversed the globe, he witnessed and recorded some of the world’s historic events, including the fall of the Soviet Union. Returning to Canada, Ferrabee was Ottawa bureau chief for Southam News, then on to The Gazette in 1989 where he retired from active journalism in 1996 as business editor of The Gazette and immediately became active as a columnist for the Institute for Research on Public Policy, a consultant, political commentator and author, pounding out copy from his home in Hatley. He offered his services freely to his community newspaper, The Record, where he made a valuable contribution as a knowledgeable commentator on the issues which affect us, from health care to financial planning.
He will be remembered by those in the profession as a generous journalist and a respected mentor.Quebec columnist Richard Cleroux wrote, “James Ferrabee was my first op-ed page editor when I joined The Gazette. He taught me how to write an opinion piece. He published my first one back in 1969. There have been 435,788 since. I owe him a lot. He will be missed.”
Beyond his role as journalist and academic, Jim Ferrabee will be remembered as a valued member of the community for his many contributions to the preservation of local history and his Hatley church, and for his enthusiastic and active participation on various committees.
“Jim Ferrabee will be remembered as a true gentleman, a devoted family man, a respected journalist and an individual who gave back so much to his community,” Goldbloom said.
He is survived by his wife Diane, a brother, John Ferrabee; three children - Jane Pendergast of Calgary, Michael Ferrabee of Toronto and David Ferrabee of London; and their respective spouses James Pendergast, Laura Redican and Yenil Rodriguez. He also leaves seven grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at St. Mark’s Chapel at Bishop’s University Friday, Jan. 29 at 11 a.m. By Sharon McCully
Lennoxville 2010-01-25 |
Montreal Canadiens
