Eric Crighton

Eric Crighton

1969 – 2024

Board member of Action Sandy Hill 2006-2008

Carolyn Couillard & Christine Aubry

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Sandy Hill resident Eric Crighton, on July 31, 2024.

Eric first lived in Sandy Hill in the 1990s while completing his BA at the University of Ottawa. The neighbourhood would come to hold a special place for him as he discovered its tree-lined streets and spent time in its parks.

Having completed his graduate studies at McMaster University and secured a position at the University of Ottawa as an environmental and health expert, Eric came back to settle in Sandy Hill with his family, remembering its walkability, a notion that was important to him even before it became a word. He immediately chose to get involved in the community and sat first on the Board of Action Sandy Hill (from 2006 to 2008) and later on that of the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (from 2011 to 2013).

Of those experiences, he kept a lifelong interest in community affairs and you would often catch him discussing any number of matters with neighbours, and participating in annual neighbourhood clean-up events.

If you were in the neighbourhood 10 years ago, you would surely have seen him leading an improvised walking train of school children from Annie Pootoogook Park to Francojeunesse, accompanied by his beloved dog Miso (who was featured in the February 2021 issue of IMAGE). You may also have crossed paths with him as he casually strolled to Strathcona Park with a rake in October to build the largest pile of leaves, or a shovel in January to help make toboggan jumps at the foot of the hill.

More recently, as the illness that would eventually take him took its toll, he revelled in long strolls around the river with his family or the many friends he had in our community.

At the Celebration of Life which took place on August 31 at the Glebe Community Centre, family, friends, colleagues and neighbours spoke at length about the huge void that Eric’s loss had left and the many qualities for which he was admired: his intellect, curiosity, sense of humour, compassion and his devotion to his students, which has been recognized by the Canadian Association of Geographers with the creation of the Eric Crighton Mentorship Award.