By DAVE KOSONIC

June Callwood lived much of her life in Etobicoke and is well-known in the community as a prominent and well-respected author, journalist and influential social activist.

Donna Cansfield, a former MPP for Etobicoke Centre, had great admiration for her friend Callwood, who passed away in 2007, due to cancer at age 82.  Callwood had bravely refused any treatment for her malignancy.

“The message she leaves behind for everyone but young women in particular is that there are lots of ways to show a passion for your cause,” Cansfield recalled. “June herself was an in-your-face activist in some ways, yet a great support behind the scenes in others.”

At the age of 16 in 1942, Callwood was hired as a young reporter at the Brantford Expositor for a humble $7.50 weekly, but in time moved up the ranks and was recruited as a reporter by The Globe and Mail.

There she met and later married well-known journalist Trent Frayne, but her maiden name always appeared on her story bylines since the newspapers at the time did not hire many married women.

For much of her life Callwood lived in the tree-lined Thorncrest Village area north of Rathburn Road and close to Mimico Creek on Hillcroft Drive.  During a 1984 interview Callwood said: “I love my street the access to the creek (Mimico Creek)…it’s a wonderful neighbourhood.”

Callwood made landmark contributions in Etobicoke and the GTA.  She was a member of the board of directors at Etobicoke General Hospital and now William Osler Health Centre.

“She was passionate about health care social justice and the community – a great supporter and a wonderful asset,” added Kytas Mickevicius then president and CEO of both hospitals.

She also was a key player in the creation of the June Callwood Centre for Women and Families and Casey House – Canada’s first HIV/AIDS hospice.  And along the way she authored 30 books and wrote for high-profile magazines, including Chatelaine.

Callwood in 1978 was appointed to the Order of Canada, the country’s second highest civilian honour. She received a Canadian Journalism Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, was  inducted into the Etobicoke Hall of Fame and earned her private pilot’s licence at age 70, which she maintained for many years.

She also dealt with many personal challenges in her own life.  She and Trent parented two daughters and two sons.  Daughters Jesse and Jill are well-respected writers and their elder son is Brent.  Casey Frayne was the youngest son and he was killed by an impaired driver in 1982 on Highway 401 while driving home from university.

On a personal note, some of Callwood’s teenagers attended Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute when I was a student there back in the day.  Mom June regularly drove them back and forth to BCI, as most parents did back then.