Claire Crooks, OOnt, PhD

November 27, 1973 – June 28, 2024

Hey all – this is Claire’s partner, George. I have sad news to share. Claire died at home last night, surrounded by family. Claire would tell us she didn’t lose; she just ran out of innings. Her substack started as some Facebook posts for friends and family but quickly grew into something much larger, a way of connecting with old friends and making new ones, a community of support and comfort. Thank you all for sharing her journey.

It will, perhaps, surprise nobody who knows Claire that she had a list of new entries that needed to be written. I suspect that the prospect of not fulfilling her self-imposed quota kept her going! After she lost her fine motor skills and couldn’t write, she asked me to create a to-do list with entries for those five posts but she never shared their titles. That’s okay. Their contents are already written in the souls of those of us who loved her.

Claire was the beloved wife and soulmate of George Goodall; adored mom to Findlay (“Finn”, 18), Sydney (16), Grady (14), and Matilda (“Tilly”, 11); daughter of Art and Mary Jane Crooks (Lethbridge, Alberta); sister to Morgan (Aimee) of Madison, NJ and Hew (Kate) of Fairfield, CT; daughter-in-law to (late) Bill and Betty Goodall of Sault Ste. Marie; sister-in-law to Rhys and Carol Goodall of Toronto; and the “cool” aunt to (late) Charlie, Crawford, Mary, Riley, Andrew, Shaen, and Evan.

Claire was a force of nature, a rare combination of intelligence, energy, humour, and kindness. A leading psychologist and researcher, she spent her youth in Lethbridge Alberta, attended high school at Brentwood College, earned her BA at Princeton, followed by an MA and PhD from Queen’s University. She was a brilliant teacher and selfless mentor at Western University, but her greatest professional impact came from her data-driven approach to improving youth mental health, with emphasis on the most vulnerable populations including Indigenous and newcomer communities. The cornerstone program that she co-developed, The Fourth R, has been deployed successfully in thousands of schools in Canada and around the World. Claire established the Centre for School Mental Health at Western, which became the leading and largest such centre in Canada, and she published numerous books and peer-reviewed articles. 

Her immense professional accomplishments were nevertheless dwarfed by her commitment as a steadfast friend and devoted mom. Claire had many happy places where she loved to spend time with her family, including the cottage on Gloucester Pool and the ski condo at Big White (where, in her memory, we will continue to sing “Thunder Road” while skiing “Born to Run”). Family adventures ranged from RV road trips to the Maritimes, family hiking through atmospheric rivers on Vancouver Island, or more ambitious treks to Nepal. Probably the most hours were spent happily in the family’s unheated backyard pool, no matter the weather or water temperature - but any place would do for Claire to be there for her kids, with her boundless energy and wicked sense of humour.

Shortly before her death, and despite being in overwhelming pain, Claire on June 21 accepted investiture to the Order of Ontario from Lt. Governor Edith Dumont, in a hastily convened ceremony at Victoria Hospital. Following the presentation, Claire somehow rose painfully to her feet and delivered impromptu remarks that were humble, funny, grateful, and hopeful. She then attended her own afterparty. Everyone present was astounded, but nobody who knew her was shocked. According to Claire, “Celebration before sorrow; there will be time for tears tomorrow.” Claire will remain an inspiration for all of us on how to live fully and well, and how to die with courage, grace, and dignity.