Vidar Nordin, loving son, dedicated brother, devoted husband, greatest father in the world, cherished Poppah, demanding professor, innovative Dean, respected consultant and caring mentor peacefully departed this world in his 99th year with his daughter, son-in-law and eldest grandson lovingly by his side. Proud father to Christopher (Emy) and Katrin (Doug) he is predeceased by his parents John Herman and Beda Catherine, his older brother Voge and his cherished wife of 73 years Julianne Leona. He is also survived by his three grandchildren Erik, Chace and Chelsea. He will be fondly remembered by the extended Smith family, friends, colleagues in the Forestry sector and numerous former students and staff during his term as Dean of Forestry at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Nordin had an exemplary career in International Forest Pathology travelling the world to treat and/or eliminate devastating diseases that affect trees globally. He received a BA Biology in 1946 and BSc Forestry in 1947 from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In 1951 he was awarded a Ph.D. in Forest Pathology from the University of Toronto.
After working in research labs in Fredericton, Toronto and Calgary, in 1956, Dr. Nordin moved to Ottawa as Associate Director, Forest Biology with national and international responsibility for Canada wide programs for forest pathology and participation in international activities such as the North American Forestry Commission (NAFC) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and research collaborations with countries such as India, the UK, Norway and the United States.
His career then pivoted to the academic side of forestry as he joined his alma mater the University of Toronto as Professor and Dean of Forestry in 1971 with a mandate to establish a Ph.D. program and expand and strengthen the programs of teaching and research through additional staff appointments and to generate funding support for research.
Upon completion of his University of Toronto contractual commitments in 1984, Dr. Nordin was appointed Professor and Dean Emeritus in 1986. At the same time, the southern Ontario section of the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) established the V.J. Nordin Prize. This trust provides ongoing financial support to selected Forestry graduate students on an annual basis. This was the first of several lasting legacies in the national and international forestry sectors.
Dr. Nordin served as the founding Chairman of the Algonquin Forestry Authority Corp (1974-1982), an agency that has served, and continues to serve, as an outstanding model of a sustainable, balanced and integrated forestry management in a large provincial park.
In 1987, Dr. Nordin was commissioned by the Association of University Forestry Schools of Canada (AUFSC), the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) and the Canadian Federation of Professional Foresters Associations (CFPFA) to develop a process of National Accreditation for the Canadian University Faculties of Forestry. This process periodically assesses and ensures world class forestry educational programs in Canada and continues today as another legacy to maintain excellence in university forestry education and research.
In the international forestry sector, Dr. Nordin coordinated two Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supported projects that led to the establishment of a Masters Degree program in forestry at the National Agricultural University in Lima Peru and a PhD program at the Federal University of Vicosa in Vicosa Brazil. Both of these programs continue today with ongoing collaboration with several Canadian forestry faculties.
In 1980, Dr. Nordin and fellow Canadian forestry deans visited and established significant contacts with the major Chinese forest education facilities. In 1985, The Chinese Association of Forestry took an unprecedented step and awarded an Honorary Membership to Dr. Nordin, a non Chinese citizen, for his contributions in promoting China-Canada Forestry collaborations.
Dr. Nordin is the author of over 175 papers and reports in the fields of forest protection, management, education and international forestry for various research and trade journals. He had served as a member, chair, co-chair, director or project director on numerous Canadian and international committees and associations. Similarly, he had received many Canadian and international awards too many to cite here.
In his retirement years, Dr. Nordin continued to consult in the academic forestry sector through V.J. Nordin Associates Inc. In addition, he was the editor for the sector's academic peer reviewed journal, The Forestry Chronicle, from 1995 to 2005 inclusive as well as co- editor from 1995-1997.
Above all, Dr. Nordin was the ultimate man of service. He continuously used his gifts and strengths to help others be it a graduate forestry student who had lost his/her path or a stranger in distress. He was always calm under duress and never spoke ill of others. Vidar was repeatedly described as the man with a smile who always lit up the room and had a kind word for everyone.
Despite being away a lot in his early career, Vidar cherished his time with family. Without fail he wrote a letter to his mother every week. Sundays were spent with the family at the National Art Gallery, Fridays at the RA bowling alley and in between he took his daughter to ballet lessons and his son to sailing at Britannia. But on a personal level he loved to fly and always had a camera in hand. Having been just too young to join the air force during WWII, he finally got his pilots licence in his mid 50s. This was indeed a milestone achievement. His camera was a necessary accessory on any business trip or family vacation and there are boxes and boxes family photos in slide format. He loved taking photos of his children and each Christmas the Nordin Christmas card was the latest family photo. As an international forest pathologist, Vidar had travelled the globe far and wide missing only the continent of Antarctica. On his return, he always had interesting stories to share with his family and he brought back unique gifts which decorated the Nordin home over the years.
Vidar's celebration of life will take place at Beechwood Cemetery on Friday, December 22, 2023. This will be a private family ceremony.