Deceased Members–2010

In Memory of John Cotton (Jock) Maynard

Jock Maynard, FSA, died on December 27, 2010, in Toronto of pneumonia. He was 91.

He was born a mathematician and it predetermined his whole life in the schooling he took, his contribution during the Second World War, the career he chose and the strategies he applied to the many sports he played so well.

Maynard's mathematical aptitude was first noticed at University of Toronto schools during his high school years. The senior teachers were considered professors in those days and students were meant to be seen rather than heard. Some students might have been intimidated by this, but Maynard became known for standing up and debating mathematical theories with his professors.

His years at the University of Toronto allowed him to excel at both athletics and mathematics. He played four years of varsity hockey and captained the 1940 Varsity Blues team that won both the Canadian and international hockey championships. The equivalent championship in the math world is the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Even though Maynard was a last-minute addition to the 1940 U of T team, he placed second overall and led his team to victory.

As the Second World War broke out, Maynard spent five years as a radar officer on many of Britain's aircraft carriers. Contributing to the war effort was important to him, but the isolation on warships at sea was not easy, and made worse when his father died of a heart attack at 52 back in Toronto. To deal with his loss and the isolation, he started to organize hockey games on the carrier's top deck.

At the end of the war, Maynard returned to Toronto, where he started his 32-year career as an actuary with Canada Life Assurance Co. In a profession filled with bright people, he was regarded as one of the brightest in North America. He eventually rose to become the chief actuary of Canada Life.

Maynard found the perfect life partner in Margaret McClelland, to whom he was married for 61 years. Margie introduced him to the joys of Georgian Bay, where they spent summers with their children, Jinny, John and Judy. Later, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren enjoyed the same pleasures on the bay.

Away from work, Maynard enjoyed tennis and golf, and contributed his time to Grace Church on-the-Hill and to the T-Holders' Association at U of T. A love of photography took him to many parts of the world, including a five-week trek in the mountains of Nepal at the age of 62.

Much later in life, when the crippling effects of dementia had set in, Maynard amazed his doctors with higher than expected scores in cognitive/memory tests. His mathematical mind was still a beautiful thing.