In memoriam: John Yaremko, 1918-2010

Mary and John Yaremko

The Faculty of Law is saddened with the passing of U of T alumnus and long-time law school supporter, John Yaremko, on August 7, 2010, just three days shy of his 92nd birthday.

Yaremko was a student in the honours law program at University College in the late 1930s. He put himself through school while working on farms and at the Steel Company of Canada during summer months and nights while attending the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law Schools. Yaremko entered the public service in 1951 as the Ontario MPP for Bellwoods Riding. He was the first Canadian of Ukrainian ancestry to be elected in eastern Canada. In 1958, he was appointed Ontario's youngest cabinet minister and served in seven ministries in the administrations of Premiers Leslie Frost, John Robarts and Bill Davis.  His public service career spanned more than 23 years, and he was an unwavering advocate of the importance of education, multiculturalism and human rights.

The Faculty of Law benefitted from this passion and commitment.  In 2002, Yaremko and his wife, Mary, established the John and Mary A. Yaremko Program in Multiculturalism and Human Rights at the Faculty of Law. The program supports an annual forum that brings scholars and teachers to the law school to engage the community in a vital discussion about the core concepts underlying our sense of ourselves as Canadians: pluralism, multiculturalism, and inclusion.  In addition to the Yaremko Program, the couple established the Yaremko Leadership Award and the Yaremko Opportunity Award at the Faculty of Law.

And in honour of his outstanding commitment to the University of Toronto, Yaremko received an Arbor Award in 2003.

The Faculty of Law extends its condolences to the Yaremko family. Read his full obituaries in the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail.