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Thomas McLean Poaps, April 10, 1950 – May 8, 2025

With deep sadness we report that Tom, while being treated for cancer, suffered a stroke at his home in Sarasota, Florida. He was hospitalized a few days before he died.

Tom was born in Ottawa. When he was quite young, the family relocated to Stanstead, Que., where his father was in the family business. Tom attended primary and secondary school in Stanstead and then attended Queen’s, where he became a mechanical engineer. Two years in Montreal followed and then Harvard University. After a short stay in the banking sector, he became associated with a real estate developer in the Boston area. He then established his own real estate operation in Bradenton, Florida. Tom was planning a second marriage plus a trip to Africa.

Tom was a keen woodsman and loved to take his beautiful Weimaraner “Hunter” out partridge hunting in the fall in the woods around Stanstead. The house in Bradenton was situated on a canal, so he was also an active boatman in the spring. Tom ran in the Boston Marathon and was ever proud of the fact that he finished “in the middle.” Recently he had become an enthusiast of antique cars and was the proud owner of two vintage Cadillac Eldorados.

Tom is mourned by his fiancée, Amy Haggerty; his sister, Joan V. Drechsler; his uncle, Richard Poaps, and Richard’s children, Richard, John, and Susan; cousins, Margot Lincoln and William Poaps, and their families. He was predeceased by his father, Philip, and by his mother, Margaret (Broach) Poaps in 2019.

The Rev. Gervis Beecher Black passed into the supreme joy of heaven on May 26, 2025. Husband to Liane, father to Cuyler (Artsci'90, Ed’93) and Marshall, Gervis is remembered for his unparalleled preaching gift, winsome faith, warmth and kindness, generosity and irrepressible humour. 

Raised in Toronto, Gervis was proud of playing fullback on the Bloor Collegiate football team. A gifted athlete, he later would play hockey for Oxford University. The seventh generation of Christian ministers, Gervis was a graduate of Queen’s. His father, Binney Simpson Black, was the first in the family to graduate from Queen's (BA’1901), and son, Cuyler, was the third.

Gervis's brilliant service to the United Church of Canada included Ontario churches in Arden, Smiths Falls (Trinity), Ottawa (Parkdale), and London (Metropolitan). Before retiring, he preached to 2,000-plus each Sunday, eventually with a national broadcast. Earlier, he had hosted the CJOH TV program Quest for seven years in Ottawa, was a Smiths Falls town councillor, ran for Parliament, and served as a special assistant to the Minister of Transport. He also was a TV commentator for Pope John Paul II’s 1984 visit to Ottawa.

Dr. Earle Leslie Covert passed away peacefully at the Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge, on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at the age of 87 years. Doctor Covert is survived by his second wife, Jean, and her daughter, Barbara; his son, Lawrence (Monique), his daughter, Cindy (Robin); and seven grandchildren, Orrin (Kaio), Dallas (Andrea), Tyrell (Ceara), Nakyta (James), Natasha, Makayla (Spencer), and Porscha (Mike). His family, while spread across Canada, has grown to include 13 great-grandchildren, who are all under the age of nine years old. While these are the blood relations he left behind, there are dozens of people and families who called him a father, a grandfather and a friend. He was predeceased by his first wife, Audrey, in 2016. Dr. Covert was born on June 21, 1938, in Ottawa, graduated Queen’s in 1963 and moved to the Northwest Territories, where he began serving the Lord as a doctor and leader in his church community. The legacy he leaves behind includes bringing hundreds of babies into this world, flying into remote communities to serve both the Lord and the medical field in any capacity he was able. 

He raised a large family and left behind a church family at Parallel Lethbridge that, while not blood, are as true a family as any man could ask for. 

Dr. Covert was a man who touched the lives of many thousands of people. He served his communities of Hay River, NWT, and Coledale/Lethbridge area as a doctor for over 50 years. In the many years he served his community, he donated his time, his energy, and his love to anyone he came in contact with, serving in Streets Alive with Foot Friday, The Gideons, and Parallel Lethbridge. He was lovingly known in Parallel as “Doc,” where he served for many years as a door greeter and voice of wisdom. 

His hobbies included: genealogy research, bird watching, and stamp collecting, where he served in BNAPS from 1972 in various capacities as secretary of the Society, and member of the board of governors. He also eventually served as chairman, and president of the organization for a time. He is known internationally for publishing and editing various catalogs and collectors documents relating back to his joy of postal stationery (stamp collecting). 

The innumerable ripples of Dr. Covert’s life and the effect he had on the people around him are not fully known, yet what is known is that he has touched so many lives in such a positive way that his passing has left a hole in the hearts of many. His lasting wish – his final goal – was to see the Lord Jesus Christ praised and the Gospel spread to anyone with ears to hear.

Arthur passed away on May 12, 2025 in his 90th year. He is survived by his wife, Velma (BA'65); children, Derek (Anita), Bryn (Com'93) (Bonnie, ConEd'93) and Dorelle; grandchildren, Alyssa (Sc'21), Kylan and William; and extended family and friends, many of whom are Queen's alumni. In 2002, Arthur was the proud recipient of the ����ֱ�� Alumni Association Herbert J. Hamilton Volunteer Service Award.