WILLIS, Lionel Francis - A true renaissance man Lionel F. Willis passed away peacefully, on December 28, 2023, at Toronto Western Hospital after a relatively short illness.
Born January 30, 1932, to Frank Willis and Margaret Shearer, an only child who grew up in Scarborough exploring the bluffs and nature, finishing High School early with honours and a scholarship to the University of Toronto.
He completed a BA in English, which opened the door to teaching at Ryerson Institute of Technology in the English Department from 1958 to 1992 - and a Masters in English Literature at York University in 1976.
Lionel was predeceased by his second child, Judith Miriam (1963-1965); his first wife, Eleanor Jane Railton (1933-2000); and his second wife, Marjorie Massey Rhodes (1926-2020).
He is survived by his sons, Lionel Victor and Francis Richard; along with his grandchildren, William, Lauren and Victoria. Lionel was larger and louder than life.
His observations and commentary, according to his grandson, tended to be "loud, eccentric and spoken in perfectly grammatical sentences complete with audible commas and periods."
Lionel's sabbatical in Florence in the mid 80s, confirmed his love of Italian language, culture and cuisine, and Marjorie, whom he met there.
They married in 1988 at Saint Thomas' in Toronto, where they were avid contributors to refugee initiatives, moved to Florence in the early 90s to work and live at the Saint James Episcopal Church and, later, to the Antinori vineyard, likely his best chapter. Lionel would tell you that he is a Poet — and it would definitely sound capitalized — but that's just one of his many callings.
He was an accomplished entomologist, painter, biologist, illustrator, outdoorsman, Yeats scholar, mushroom hunter, gardener and an excellent cook.
In his latter years, if you talked to Lionel about anything for at least an hour, he would find a way to bring up quantum physics. Donations to Diabetes Canada.
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