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'Everyone liked Cliff.... He thought it was important to start every day with a smile.' - Fred Upshaw.
Toronto (7 May 2010) - Clifford Melvin Woodrow, a long-time activist and former executive board member of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE), passed away suddenly on April 26 in Orillia following a brief illness. He was born in 1942.
The native of Marchmont, Ont., is survived by his wife Joan (nee Haverstock), son Scott, granddaughter Sara, sisters Isobel Woodhouse and Sandra Elliott, and brother Walter.
“Cliff had quite a reputation as a health and safety activist throughout Region 3. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family,” said OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas.
Woodrow served for two terms on the OPSEU board of directors and was a thorough team player, recalled former OPSEU president Fred Upshaw.
“Everyone liked Cliff. He wasn’t the type to play politics,” added Upshaw. “He used to have a habit of calling me up every day, just to tell me a joke. He thought it was important to start every day with a smile.”
Cliff Woodrow was a cook for many years at Huronia Regional Centre (HRC) in Orillia. He was chief steward at HRC for a time before becoming president of Local 323. He went on to serve on the OPS central bargaining team and then as a member of the OPSEU board in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
After a brief retirement in the late 1990s Cliff resumed work as a cook for a short time at a local nursing home in Orillia.
Memorial donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated - to be received by Simcoe Funeral Home, 38 James St. E., Orillia, ON, L3V 1L1. (At Clifford's request, no visitation or service will be held at this time.)
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE