Famous Residents Guelph, ON

Famous residents listed on Guelph's famous residents page are considered famous residents born in the city or town of Guelph. Even though that person was brought up in another city or town it's not fair to Guelph where the famous person was actually born to add them to another city or town. We get lots of requests for famous people considered to be famous in one city or town but were born in another city or town. Virtual Walk considers a famous resident, a person born in the city or town we list them in. Virtual Walk doesn't intentionally insult a famous resident in Guelph. So if we've missed someone important to Guelph we need to honour that resident by listing them in Guelph. Virtual Walk has listed the famous residents we could find that were actually born in Guelph. I'm sure there are some famous residents in Guelph we've missed. If you know a famous resident born in Guelph not listed on Guelph's Famous Residents page, contact us we'll be honoured to research the information and add the famous resident.

John McCrae
Is the author of the famed poem, In Flanders Field, written during the First World War. John born in 1872 raised in Guelph and is remembered as one of Guelph's most famous sons.
McCrae was more than a poet, and was in fact a doctor, soldier, author and artist. The paternal grandparents of John McCrae, Thomas and Jean (nee Campbell) emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1849 and settled in Guelph. Their son David married Janet Eckford and they had three children; Thomas (1870), John (1872) and Geills (1878). John's early education was received in Guelph, first at Central Public School and subsequently at Guelph Collegiate Institute.
GCVI circa 1920While at Guelph Collegiate, John joined the Highland Cadet Corps which was affiliated with the school. One year later, at the age of 15, McCrae became a bugler in the local militia regiment of artillery commanded by his father. He later joined this same regiment as a gunner.
At the age of 16, John was awarded a scholarship to the University of Toronto (left photo) due to his academic achievement at Guelph Collegiate. McCrae attended classes at the University of Toronto until 1892-3, when McCrae's grad photo - 1894he took a year off his studies due to recurring problems with asthma. During this break from university John was a resident master in English and Mathematics at the Ontario Agricultural College (O.A.C.) in Guelph. After returning to Toronto and completing his B.A., John commenced studies in medicine at the University of Toronto and did a medical residency at the Garrett Hospital, a Maryland children's convalescent home.
While at university, John maintained his military ties with the No. 2 Battery in Guelph. He remained a member of the Guelph militia regiment and was promoted several times, finally making the rank of Lieutenant. At the same time he was also involved with a Toronto militia, the Queen's Own Rifles, in which he rose to the rank of Captain and commanded the company.
Boat scene in pen & ink It was also while John was still at University that some of his early poems were first published. Although McCrae is widely known as a poet, his literary efforts were not confined to one genre. While at university he also had some of his short stories published and he later went on to write scientific articles and medical textbooks. As well as his literary efforts, John dabbled in the visual arts, making numerous sketches throughout his life.
John McCrae graduated at the top of his class in medicine at the University of Toronto, and in 1899 was awarded a fellowship in pathology to McGill University in Montreal. This award coincided with the start of the Boer War (1899-1902) and John put off accepting the fellowship in order to go to South Africa with the artillery. McCrae left for South Africa in 1900 in command of the left section of D Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery attached to the Second Canadian Contingent. This contingent returned to Canada in 1901 after participating in several major campaigns. With his return McCrae accepted the fellowship at McGill, which he completed in 1905.
Operation in progress...While still working on this fellowship, McCrae was appointed special professor in pathology at the University of Vermont, a position he held until 1911. During this time he was also appointed an associate of medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and was a lecturer in pathology and medicine at McGill University. After completing the fellowship McCrae was employed as a pathologist at Montreal General Hospital and as a physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Infectious Diseases, also in Montreal. In 1910, Lord Grey, then Governor General of Canada, undertook an expedition by canoe from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson's Bay. John McCrae accompanied this voyage as expedition doctor.
Queen Mary and entourage When the first World War began in 1914, McCrae again offered his services to the military. He was conditionally offered the position of Brigade Surgeon in the First Brigade of Canadian Field Artillery by E.W.B. Morrison, the brigade commander and a friend of McCrae. McCrae was formally confirmed in this position in the fall of 1914. While Brigade Surgeon, John was responsible for a field dressing station at the front and treated those wounded during the Second Battle of Ypres (Ieper) in the spring of 1915. As well as performing his duties as surgeon, he also served on the guns when needed and occasionally performed burial services. It was after performing the service for a friend, Alexis Helmer, that McCrae was inspired to write In Flanders Fields. The poem was written May 3, 1915 and first published in Punch that same year.
In the summer of 1915, McCrae was transferred from the artillery Brigade to the Number 3 Canadian General Hospital in France, where he was second in command of medical services. During McCrae's time there, the Number 3 Hospital received a visit from Queen Mary, who toured the hospital. McCrae disliked these official visits as he felt they detracted from the real work of the hospital.
McCrae's funeral procession While still at this hospital in January 1918, McCrae became ill with pneumonia, which was soon complicated by meningitis. Four days before he died, he was honoured by being the first Canadian appointed as consulting physician to the First British Army. John McCrae died on 28 January 1918, and was buried with military honours at Wimereaux Cemetery in France. At McCrae's funeral procession, 75 nursing sisters stood by to watch and McCrae's horse, Bonfire, wore his master's boots backwards in military tradition.

In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.  

Thomas F. (Tommy) Ryan
Born in Guelph in 1872. Died in Toronto, Ontario. November 19, 1961. Tommy Ryan was known for the sport of bowling. Tommy Ryan was inducted into the hall of fame in 1971. Opened his first 10-pin bowling alley in 1905 and invented 5 pin bowling in 1909.
There are few uniquely Canadian sports and, of those, five-pin bowling is among the most popular. The game's inventor, Thomas F. (Tommy) Ryan was a character on the Toronto sports scene for over 50 years, as distinctive as the game he created. Thomas F. (Tommy) Ryan was not only born in Guelph, Ontario, but was an accomplished baseball player who once turned down an offer to pitch for the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern International League. When Thomas F. (Tommy) Ryan was 18, he moved to Toronto to make it big.
Thomas F. (Tommy) Ryan dabbled in many ventures and in 1905 opened the first ten-pin bowling alley in Canada. The Toronto Bowling Club was an exclusive establishment, located in downtown Toronto at the intersection of Yonge and Temperance Streets above Ryrie's Jewellers, complete with potted palms and a string orchestra. Bowling at the time was a "gentleman's" game no women were allowed in Ryan's establishment and among his regular bowlers Thomas F. (Tommy) Ryan counted John Eaton, several of the department store's executives, and Mayor Sam McBride.
One story has it that the gentlemen who took to bowling over their lunch hour complained that the 10-pin game took too long to complete and that lifting the 16-pound ball left them fatigued for their afternoon's labours. In response, Tommy Ryan experimented with other bowling games, such as duck pins and candle pins, which he adapted for his own purposes. Tommy Ryan's father shaved down five of the tenpins on a lathe, while Ryan secured a 2½-pound ball and created a new scoring system. When it turned out that the lighter pins would fly around the alley creating quite a din, Tommy Ryan installed protective screens on each alley and wrapped a rubber band around each pin to reduce the noise they made when they were knocked down.
By 1908, Tommy Ryan had established five-pin bowling. However, Tommy Ryan never patented his invention and thus never profited from it. In 1909, Charles R. Gibson opened a series of five-pin alleys from Toronto to Victoria, and a Canadian institution was born.
Tommy Ryan was an entrepreneur interested in many different forms of public amusement. Tommy Ryan also owned a billiard hall, also on Yonge Street, and operated a hotel, whose operation was rendered unprofitable by prohibition in the 1920s. Following that venture, Tommy Ryan purchased the former home of the Massey family on Jarvis Street and turned it into an antique gallery and auction house. Tommy Ryan, who was a fixture on the Toronto sports scene throughout the first half of the 20th century, was also interested in boxing and horse racing. In 1950, Tommy Ryan chaired the city's Sunday Afternoon Sports Committee, which recommended overturning sabbatarian regulations and allowing Sunday sports to return to Toronto after an absence of 85 years.

Neve Campbell
Three to Tango More Posters & Photos Neve Adrianne Campbell born October 3, 1973 is a Canadian film and television actress. Neve Campbell was born in Guelph, Ontario Neve Campbell's father Gerry is from Glasgow, Scotland and her mother Marnie from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Neve Campbell began her public life as a dancer Neve Campbell trained at the National Ballet School of Canada and featured in performances of The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Following several injuries, Neve Campbell moved from dancing into acting at the age of 15, performing The Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages Theatre in Toronto.
Neve Campbell rose to wider fame as lead character Julia Salinger in the teen drama series Party of Five, starring in the series from 1994 to 2000. Neve Campbell went on to star in movies such as The Craft, Scream (and its 2 sequels), Wild Things and Three to Tango. Following the end of the Scream series, Neve Campbell's career became more low-key, appearing in movies such as Hairshirt and Investigating Sex which did not receive wide releases. Neve Campbell received wide plaudits from critics however for her role in Panic alongside William H. Macy and Donald Sutherland.
Early in 2004, Campbell starred in The Company, a film about Chicago's Joffrey Ballet directed by Robert Altman. Campbell also co-wrote and produced the movie. Despite pre-release publicity suggesting otherwise, Campbell does not break her tradition of having a no-nudity clause in her contract for the film. Neve Campbell married Jeff Colt in 1995; they divorced in 1997. Campbell appears in campaign literature and videos for Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada and the Tourette Syndrome Association (a similar American organisation). Neve Campbell's brother suffers from the Syndrome. 

Jean Little
A Canadian author born in 1932. Her work has mainly consisted of children's literature, but she has also written two autobiographies: Little by Little and Stars Come Out Within. She has a guide dog because she is partly blind. Jean has got her 'blindness' from birth. When she was born, she had scars on her cornea.
Little taught handicapped children until 1962, when her first book, Mine for Keeps, was published. Since then, she has had 31 books published, including novels, picture books, autobiography, poetry and short stories. Her books have been translated into a hundred and ten languages and have won many awards. Due to her own experience with blindness and her work with handicapped children, almost all of her books involve characters with physical or mental disabilities. She also writes about many systems in place to help those with handicaps such as raising guide dog puppies and schools for children with disabilities.
His Banner Over Me is based on Jean's mother's childhood and experiences growing up in China and Canada. Willow and Twig is also based loosely on her family's, involving Jean's young great-niece and great-nephew coming to stay with her and her sister, Pat. Three of Jean Little's more recent books are Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope (2001), Brothers Far from Home: The World War I Diary of Eliza Bates (2003), and If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona Macgregor (2007) for the popular historical fiction series, Dear Canada. All three books have been very well-received.
Currently, Jean lives in Guelph, Ontario, with her sister, great-niece and great-nephew. They have two dogs, two cats, a dwarf rabbit and two African Grey parrots. Jean is an adjunct professor at the University of Guelph where she has taught children's literature. She has four honorary degrees and is a member of the Order of Canada. Her most recent honorary degree, a Doctor of Letters, was awarded by the University of Toronto
on June 23, 2006. At that time, she was accompanied by her newest seeing eye dog, a two-year-old golden retriever called Honey. Her niece Maggie de Vries was a finalist for the 2003 Governor General's Awards for her book Missing Sarah: A Vancouver Woman Remembers Her Vanished Sister.

John Kenneth Galbraith, OC (October 15, 1908–April 29, 2006)
A Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism and progressivism. His books on economic topics were bestsellers in the 1950s and the 1960s.
Galbraith was a prolific author who produced four dozen books and over a thousand articles on various subjects. Among his most famous works was a popular trilogy on economics, American Capitalism (1952), The Affluent Society (1958), and The New Industrial State (1967). He taught at Harvard University for many years. Galbraith was active in politics, serving in the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; and among other roles served as United States Ambassador to India under Kennedy.
He was one of the few honourees who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice. He received one in 1946 from President Truman and another in 2000 from President Bill Clinton. He was also awarded the Order of Canada in 1997 and, in 2001, the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, for his contributions to strengthening ties between India and the United States.
Galbraith was born to Canadians of Scottish descent, Bruce Alexander Galbraith and Sarah Catherine Kendall, in Iona Station, and was raised in Dunwich Township. He went to school at Sugar-Salem High School. His father was a farmer and school teacher and mother a political activist. He was sent to boarding school Appleby College of nearby Oakville, Ontario for the final two years of high school. By the time he was a teenager, he had adopted the name Ken, and later disliked being called John. Both his parents were supporters of the United Farmers of Ontario in the 1920s. After initially studying agriculture, Galbraith graduated from the Ontario Agricultural College (then affiliated with the University of Toronto, and now the University of Guelph) with a B.Sc degree in 1931, and then received an MSc (1933) and PhD in Agricultural Economics (1934) from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1934, he also became a tutor at Harvard University. In 1937, he became a United States citizen. In the same year, he took a year-long fellowship at Cambridge University, England, where he became influenced by John Maynard Keynes, then lived in Berlin for several months in 1938, attending an international economic conference and developing his ideas. Galbraith was a very tall man, growing to a reported height of 6'9"
Galbraith taught intermittently at Harvard in the period 1934 to 1939.From 1939 to 1940, he taught at Princeton University. From 1943 until 1948, he served as editor of Fortune magazine. In 1949, he was appointed professor of economics at Harvard.

Seth
The pen name of Gregory Gallant (born September 16, 1962), a Canadian comic book artist and writer. He is best known for comics like Palooka-Ville.
Born in Clinton, Ontario, Seth attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. He currently lives in Guelph, Ontario, with his wife and five cats.
Seth's first published comics work was as an illustrator on the Vortex Comics series Mister X, but he soon moved to his own series, Palooka-ville (published by Drawn and Quarterly), which was part of a miniature boom in non-genre alternative comics from Canada in the 1990s. Seth, Chester Brown, and Joe Matt not only also began their own semi-autobiographical series at the same time but were friends and sometimes depicted each other in their stories. Palooka-Ville began as a low-key chronicle of the artist's daily life but moved on to longer and more ambitious stories, including what was later collected as the graphic novel It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken— an apparently autobiographical tale that was actually fiction.
The first volume of The Complete Peanuts from Fantagraphics Books with cover design by Seth.
He is also a magazine illustrator and book designer, perhaps best known for his work designing the complete collection of Charles M. Schulz's classic comic strip Peanuts. The books, slated to be released by Fantagraphics Books in 25 separate volumes combine Seth's signature aesthetic with Schulz's minimalistic comic creation. He provided the artwork for Aimee Mann's 2001 album Lost in Space.
Clyde Fans, the story of two brothers whose trade in electric fans suffers and eventually went out of business from the failure to adapt to the rise of air conditioning, has been serialized in Palooka-ville. Seth's short graphic novel Wimbledon Green, about an eccentric comic-book collector, was published in November 2005.
In April 2006, Penguin Classics released the revised Portable Dorothy Parker, with a jacket and French flaps designed and illustrated by Seth. He said, "It’s fun when you care about the project, definitely. In fact, I’ve been a commercial illustrator for years, besides being a cartoonist, and that's not fun. That's like the kind of thing, I find, you're just selling style in a way."
From September 2006 to March 25, 2007, Seth serialized a new graphic novel, George Sprott (1894-1975), for the "The Funny Pages" section of the New York Times Magazine.
Seth's affection for early- and mid-20th century popular culture, and his relative disdain for pop culture since then, is a recurrent theme in his work, both in terms of the characters (who are often nostalgic for the period) and his artistic style. (Although, as a teenager, he was a vocal fan of mainstream superhero comics; he even had a couple of fan letters published.)
Seth's artwork has landed on the cover of The New Yorker twice, which he said was a professional milestone he was happy to achieve.
A selection of Seth's original models (studies for his fictional city, Dominion) was included in an exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, AZ from April 21st through August 19th 2007.
In a collaboration between the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery (KW|AG)
Seth, and RENDER, one of the buildings from Seth’s Dominion City project has been re-built as a walk-in theatre in KW|AG’s Eastman Gallery. Within the theatre is a running program of short films selected from the National Film Board library by Seth. With its exterior painted to mimic Seth’s graphic style, visitors are invited to literally walk in to one of Seth’s buildings which, until this point, have only existed as small scale models. more
The North Star Talking Picture House is complemented by an installation of Seth’s related work at RENDER (University of Waterloo). This installation includes more than sixty of the model buildings from Dominion City – a fictitious Canadian city that has served as the setting for the Palooka-Ville and Clyde Fans comic series, including the original model for the North Star Talking Picture House. See the North Star Talking Picture House at KW|AG until January 4, 2009, visit Dominion City at RENDER until December 6, 2008.

Kirk Maltby
(born December 22, 1972 in Guelph, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League.
Having spent his junior years with the Owen Sound Platers of the Ontario Hockey League, Maltby was selected in the 3rd round, 65th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1992 Draft. Maltby spent his entire rookie year at the Cape Breton Oilers of the American Hockey League and played his first National Hockey League season in 1993 playing 68 games and scoring 11 goals and 8 assists for 19 points and 74 penalty minutes. He played for the Oilers another 2 seasons before moving to the Detroit Red Wings during the 1995–96 National Hockey League season, in which he was traded on March 20 by the Oilers to the Red Wings in exchange for defenseman Dan McGillis.
Maltby has spent 11 seasons with the Red Wings, helping them win 4 Stanley Cup titles (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008). He played on the "Grind Line" with team-mates Kris Draper and Darren McCarty or Joe Kocur for a number of years.
Although Maltby was a rather prolific scorer in the Canadian junior leagues, he has never netted a 20 goal season nor has he reached 40 points. Instead, he has gained a reputation around the National Hockey League as a solid checking forward who is able to instigate his opponents into taking a cheap penalty. As a result, he was named to the Canadian National Team for the 2005 World Championships. His best statistical season was 2002–03, when he set career highs in goals (14), assists (23), points (37), and penalty minutes (91).
Kirk Maltby resides in the Grosse Pointe area during the season and splits his off season between his Michigan home and Cambridge, Ontario residence. He and his wife have a four-year-old daughter (Ella) and newly-born twins (Landon and Laighton).

Victor Davis
(February 10, 1964 – November 13, 1989) was a Canadian Olympic and world champion swimmer, a well known breaststroker from Canada. He also enjoyed success in the individual medley and the butterfly.
Victor Davis born in Guelph. As a boy, Davis learned how to swim in the lakes around his home. He then joined the Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club at the age of 12.
During his career, Davis held several world records as the winner of 29 national titles and 16 medals in international competition. At the 1982 world championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he set his first world record while winning the gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, he won a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke event, then captured the gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke, in the process establishing another world record. In recognition of his accomplishments, Victor Davis was named Swimming Canada's Athlete of the Year three times and the Canadian government made him a Member of the Order of Canada.
A star of Canada's national swim team for nine years, he retired from competitive swimming in July 1989. He was voted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985 and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
Only a few months after his retirement, on November 11, 1989 while outside a nightclub in the Montreal suburb of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Victor Davis was struck by an automobile whose driver fled the scene. It was suspected that Davis and the driver had been in a heated argument, and many believed that the latter wanted revenge. Two days later, the 25 year-old died of his injuries in hospital. The charges against the driver were never sustained.
Victors parents fulfilled his express wish that his organs be donated to help save the lives of others. The swimmer's heart, liver, kidneys and two cornea were transplanted. The recipient of Victor Davis's heart lived for 16 years after the transplant due to his fitness.
Each year since his passing, awards are made by The Victor Davis Memorial Fund to help young Canadian swimmers continue their education while training in pursuit of excellence at the international level of competition. To date, more than 55 athletes have benefited.

Lou Fontinato Born Jan. 20th, 1932 Guelph, Ontario
A rugged defenceman who played 535 National Hockey League games with the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens in the 1950s and '60s. Considering his physical style, he was a durable player who missed relatively few games until, ironically, suffering a career-ending injury late in the 1962-63 season.
The native of Guelph, Ontario played two years with the local Biltmore Mad Hatters of the Ontario Hockey Association where formed a formidable tandem with Harry Howell. In 1952 the squad hammered the Regina Pats to win the Memorial Cup. During his amateur days, Fontinato's temper became legendary and he became known as "Leapin' Louie" as a result of his elaborate protests when he was called for a penalty. In addition to Fontinato and Howell, the Guelph team boasted such future stars as Andy Bathgate and Dean Prentice. After junior Fontinato played most of his first three pro seasons with the World Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks and Saskatoon Quakers. He did play 27 games for the Rangers in 1954-55 but did not join the National Hockey League for good until the following season.
During his first full year in the National Hockey League, "Leapin' Louie" made his presence felt and led the league with 202 penalty minutes. He spent five more years in New York where he roughed up opposing forwards and jumped into the rush on occasion. On June 13, 1961 he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in a much-publicized deal for Doug Harvey.
Fontinato spent two years with the Habs before suffering a career-ending neck injury in a game against his old club on March 9, 1963. He'd originally decided to play through to the end of the 1963-64 season before fate intervened. The courageous veteran was paralyzed for a month after the accident and did not regain feeling in his arms for four months.

Krys Barch
Right Wing
Born Mar 26 1980 Guelph, ON
Height 6.02 Weight 200 Shoots L
Krystofer Barch (born March 26, 1980) is a Canadian ice hockey player for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. Barch made his National Hockey League debut January 15, 2007 against the Los Angeles Kings after being called up due to injuries. He remained with the Stars for the remainder of the season, playing in 26 of 37 games and scored 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points. Known as a hard-hitter, Barch had 107 penalty minutes, which included 13 fighting majors.
Barch played his junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, where he was a goal scorer and not a fighter. In his three years with London, Barch had 123 points in 187 games while tallying 206 penalty minutes. Considering Barch had 217 minutes in penalties in 2006–07 with Dallas and Iowa combined in only 57 combined games, it shows how far his game has come.

Gavin Smith (born 4 September 1968 in Guelph, Ontario)
A Canadian professional poker player who won the World Poker Tour Mirage Poker Showdown Championship event in 2005.
Smith learned how to play cards by playing cribbage and rummy with his father. He started playing poker at the age of 26, playing mixed games with co-workers. He became a poker dealer in 1996 and set up his own poker club in 1998. He has also worked as a taxi driver and on a golf course.
Smith first came to note by winning tournaments in no limit Texas hold 'em and seven card stud in the 1999 and 2000 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
In May 2005 he won the first prize of $1,128,278 in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Mirage Poker Showdown in Las Vegas, defeating Ted Forrest in the final heads-up confrontation. In October 2005 he made the World Poker Tour final table again in the 2nd Annual Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship, where he finished 3rd, behind Minh Ly and Dan Harrington. He made a third World Poker Tour final table in January 2006, finishing 4th. The three World Poker Tour final tables earned him the World Poker Tour Player of the Year award for season 4.
He first cashed in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2003 and would later make the money in the $10,000 no limit hold'em main event in 2004, finishing 52nd. He went on to cash in 2005 also (471st)as well as in 2007 (592nd). In spite of his many appearances at the WSOP he has not succeeded in winning a bracelet yet. He does however have several high finishes including a runner-up finish in 2007 ($1,500 Pot-Limit Hold 'Em for $155,645). The experience Smith gained in mixed-games when he started playing has also served him well as he has several high finishes in H.O.R.S.E. tournaments.
In May 2006, Smith finished 2nd in the World Series of Poker circuit event at Harrah's New Orleans, winning $293,930. Smith had made a bet with Allie Prescott on who would win. If Smith won, Prescott would give him $70,000 per year for 10 years; if Prescott won, Smith would give him $100,000 per year for 10 years. Peter Feldman went on to win the tournament.
He won the B.A.R.G.E. Main Event in 2004, besting a strong field of 249 poker enthusiasts, in Las Vegas, NV.
In July 2006, Smith won the World Pro-Am Challenge event at the Poker Dome Challenge, taking home the $500,000 first prize.
From April 2006 until October 2006, Gavin was one of the hosts of The Circuit radio show sponsored by Card Player Magazine. Smith and Joe Sebok also host Poker Road Radio with Ali Nejad.
He Won Poker After Dark's Season 3 Week 2 "19th Hole" defeating Phil Ivey in heads up play. It was his first time on the show.
Smith plays online poker on several sites and has played under the alias birdguts as well as his own name on Full Tilt Poker where he plays as one of their Full Tilt Pros.
Smith is good friends with Erick Lindgren who helped bankroll him early in his career.
Smith came in second place at the Pacifica 2008 tournament at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,600,000

Mary Swan
A very private person, and not much is known about her life. It is known that she graduated from York University and the University of Guelph, both in Ontario, Canada. As of 2005, she lives in Guelph, which is near Toronto, with her husband and daughter. She works at the University of Guelph library. Swan has traveled all over Europe. As of 2005 Swan had been writing for over twenty years, ten of which were spent sporadically working on "The Deep."

Raymond Angelo Joseph "Scampy" Scapinello
Born November 5, 1946 in Guelph, Ontario is a former National Hockey League linesman.
Scapinello's career included the 1998 Winter Olympics, 20 Stanley Cup Finals, 2,500 regular season games, and 426 playoff games. He retired in June 2004 after 33 seasons. Over the course of his career, Scapinello never missed a single game due to injury or illness. Also, he never wore a helmet during his entire National Hockey League officiating career; he was under a grandfather clause. He did however wear a helmet as part of the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
After retiring, Scapinello took a part-time job as an officials supervisor in two amateur hockey leagues, the Ontario Hockey League in Canada and the Central Hockey League in the United States. He has also instructed at summer officiating camps, including the North American School of Officiating.
Ray is married to Maureen and they have one child, Ryan. On June 17, 2008, it was announced that Scapinello would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as an on-ice official

William "Bill" McCreary
Born November 17, 1955, Guelph, Ontario a referee in the National Hockey League.
McCreary first refereed an National Hockey League game in 1984. On February 16, 2008, McCreary refereed his 1,500th National Hockey League game in the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins. McCreary wears uniform number 7 since the 1994-95 National Hockey League season, and has been wearing a helmet for most of his refereeing career. McCreary has a pregame ritual in which he flips the puck in the air before dropping it for the opening face off.
During the 2004–05 National Hockey League lockout, McCreary worked building kitchen cabinets to make ends meet. In 2007, McCreary was selected to officiate the Stanley Cup Finals for the 13th year in a row. McCreary was not selected to work the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008.

Charles William Fox 
Born February 16th 1920 in Guelph, Ontario
Was a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. He attended Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute.
Fox, the son of an Irish immigrant, joined the RCAF in 1939 at the beginning of the war (his brother Ted joined the Royal Canadian Artillery). He graduated near the top of his class in 1941 and was offered a job as a flight instructor in Dunnville, Ontario. He remained in this position until 1943 when he began combat training in Bagotville, Quebec. He flew Spitfires over Europe, destroying or damaging 153 enemy vehicles (mostly trains), and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (with bar).
In 1944, he began his tour of duty with the Canadian 412 Squadron. On D-Day he flew three patrols off the coast of France. On July 17, 1944, he flew from the Allied air base at Beny-sur-Mer in Normandy and strafed an unknown black car; he later learned that one of the passengers was German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who was seriously injured in the attack. The Americans also claimed to have hit Rommel's car, but German reports specifically mentioned a Spitfire rather than an American P-47. As Rommel was soon afterwards implicated in the assassination plot against Adolf Hitler, he was allowed to commit suicide and his death was announced as a result of injuries from the air attack. In 2004 Fox was officially credited with injuring Rommel, although he has expressed some regret about the attack, as Rommel was supposedly planning to secretly negotiate an earlier end to the war with the Allies.
Fox ended his tour of duty in January 1945, and served in the 420 Reserve after the war. He retired in 1956 and began to work at a shoe factory, from which he retired in 1998. On April 30, 2004, he was named honorary colonel of 412 Squadron in Ottawa, ultimately belonging to 8 Wing/CFB Trenton.
He died in a car accident near Tillsonburg, Ontario, on 18 October 2008.
It is noteworthy that fourteen of Mr. Fox’s planes were rendered no longer usable after returning from missions due to excessive damage from enemy fire.
Charles Fox will be missed as an educator of youth and spokesperson for our veterans. He founded Torch Bearers, a non-profit organization that educates young people about Canadian military exploits. He regularly took on speaking engagements to keep veterans' stories alive and fought with school boards to ensure Remembrance Day ceremonies were held annually.
Mr. Fox's family has shared that he spent his life wondering why he survived numerous dates with death and was in the process of telling his story and those of other veterans in a book titled Why Not Me?, which the family hopes to finish. "It did give him a purpose in life and he was searching for that," his son said.
Mr. Fox is also survived by another daughter, Adrienne Black, who lives in New Jersey, nine grandchildren, three step-grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Edward Johnson / Edoardo Di Giovanni, tenor, opera administrator, patron
(1878-1959)
“My great ambition for Guelph” said Edward Johnson, during his May Festival of 1929, “is to see it represented by a spirit of community in music as well as in everything else.” Both city and citizens would profit if early music education were available in school. Children would learn to understand and to enjoy music. They would learn to sing or to play an instrument in school choirs or orchestras. Later, by participating in local groups, they would share and foster a community spirit. A few would excel in their chosen field and find a career. And then, he added, “children who grow to love music will create a demand for it. Audiences are the most vital people in music.”
Born in Guelph in 1878, Edward Johnson’s vision extended beyond Guelph as a musical city; he wanted Canada to be a singing nation with his hometown as its heartbeat. His work as first Chairman of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, as a founder of the Opera School and as instigator of music at the University of Western Ontario are only a few of his achievements. His favourite motto, quoted by his daughter, Fiorenza Drew at the dedication of the Edward Johnson Building at the University of Toronto, illustrates one of his secrets “make no small plans for they hold no magic to stir men’s hearts and minds.”
As a world-famous operatic singer, Edward Johnson’s magnificent intelligence, commanding physique and much hard work made him the leading tenor of the Metropolitan Opera Company between 1922-1935. His every appearance at “the Met” was sold out. Later, as General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, he worked prodigiously for fifteen years to “Save the Met” as well as introduced many new stars and operas.
Edward lived away from Guelph from 1899-1950, in New York, then as an operatic star in Italy, in Chicago and at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Edward Johnson returned to Guelph as often as he could and during his visits he saw the need for a more enduring legacy to support Guelph’s young musical talent and pledged $25,000 over five years to the Guelph Board of Education in order to enrich the teaching of music in the schools. Edward Johnson’s philanthropic investment had a profound influence on the future of music education for young people in this community.
Following a prestigious career, Edward Johnson retired to Guelph in 1950. With his enthusiasm and offer of financial support and with the backing of the Rotary Club of Guelph, the Edward Johnson Music Foundation was formed with the mandate to “provide facilities for education and instruction in music and to encourage appreciation of an interest in music.”
On April 20, 1959, the internationally acclaimed tenor, dressed in his familiar white tie and tails for a National Ballet recital at the Guelph arena, suffered a fatal heart attack on entering the building. Until his death, Edward Johnson continued to be involved in promoting music education in his hometown.

John Edward "Jack" Purcell (December 24, 1903 – June 10, 1991)
A Canadian world champion badminton player. Purcell was the Canadian National Badminton Champion in 1929 and 1930, and declared the world champion in 1933. Purcell retired in 1945, and pursued a career as a stock broker. Purcell also designed an athletic shoe that bears his name, which is still popular today.
Born in Guelph, Ontario, Purcell excelled at tennis and golf as a child. He took up badminton in 1924, and rose quickly in Ontario's amateur ranks. Purcell won five consecutive Ontario championships from 1927 to 1931, and was the Canadian National Badminton Champion in 1929 and 1930. Purcell became the leading badminton player in Canada, which led him to write a badminton column for the Toronto Star. In 1931, Purcell traveled to England, having beaten all his competitors in Canada. There, he won the Surrey Doubles but got only as far as the semi-finals in the All-England Championships.
After his trip to England, Purcell returned to Canada only to learn that he was stripped of his amateur status. The Canadian Badminton Association claimed that his Toronto Star articles made him a paid professional. As a professional badminton player, however, Purcell beat all the leading players in the world by 1932. He was declared world champion in 1933 based on his beating the top Canadian, American and British badminton players. His world championship status was challenged numerous times, but Purcell remained unbeaten until his retirement in 1945.
In 1950, the Canadian Press named Purcell as Canada’s Outstanding Athlete of the 20th Century in the miscellaneous sports category. Purcell was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1973 despite having never played in the Olympic Games. At the time of his induction badminton was still not an Olympic sport. In 1955, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Outside of sports, Purcell was a stockbroker and a member of the Toronto Stock Exchange. He died in Toronto in 1991 at age 87. The Jack Purcell Recreation Centre, located in Ottawa was named after Purcell. 

"Jack Purcell's"
Purcell designed a canvas and rubber badminton sneaker for the B.F. Goodrich Company of Canada in 1935. Purcell designed the shoe to provide more protection and support on badminton courts. In the 1970's, Converse purchased the trademark rights to Jack Purcell sneakers which it still produces and sells today. Converse "Jack Purcell's" are still popular but more for their vintage fashion appeal than for athletic use. 

Janet Aizenstros
Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario.
Janet Aizenstros a Canadian media proprietor, author, talk show host, speaker, model, producer and globally recognized emotional intelligence advocate. Janet Aizenstros is a frequent sought-out contributor to HuffPost Live and CTV Canada AM. Janet has been featured on numerous media outlets internationally and interviewed some of the world’s most recognized celebrities such as Keke Palmer, Brian McKnight, Larenz Tate and more.
Janet growing up in a home exposed to a wide array of music, Janet has a passion for words and writing from her musical background. At 14, she began vocal training until 19 hoping to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a singer. Her dream of becoming a singer never became her career. At 17, Janet wrote her first book, My Heart Open As The Sky released in 2014.

From 2012 to 2013, Janet wrote seven books ranging from children to self-awareness. Her writings have appeared in numerous anthologies globally, her poetry recognized by the International Library of Poetry. Her children’s book series Why Mommy Loves can be found globally on all major book retailers and inducted in the Guelph Public Library archives along-side world renowned children’s author Robert Munsch. Janet is the first Afro-Canadian woman to have her company featured for International Women's Day 2015 at Indigo's flagship in Toronto and first to host an women's event in Indigo's history. She is a writer for Huffington Post and Byblacks.com, Canada's top Afro-Canadian news site.

JAOM's Women's Movement Radio Network and Women's Movement Television Network, has given Janet the opportunity to host and produce high-profiled stories such as the celebrity-supported child trafficking case of Sara Kruzan and U.S. history-making story, The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser the 19th wife who brought polygamous cult leaders to justice. Her purpose for creating this media platform is to give women a voice, allow media coverage and to engage content relevant to their needs around business, love and lifestyle.

Currently, Janet serves as chairwoman of her founded movement National Bare Day a national campaign dedicated to teaching women how to become more aware of how the media influences their social & emotional intelligence. On October 24th, 2012, National Bare Day launched it's first campaign via social media which went viral engaging over 1200 people on Facebook and Twitter. For National Bare Day campaign 2013, Janet created and hosted a live event called Bold. Bare. Powerful - Emotional Intelligent Conversations for Women. This live event featured 15 panelists which including influential women such as Mabel's Labels founder Julie Cole and Global TV finance contributor Shannon Lee Simmons from The School of Finance.
At present, Janet is working on her first co-produced film called Bold. Bare. Powerful, a film on emotional intelligence to be released through Ahava Films in late 2015. She serves as Media Liaison for the Inspiration Guelph event for the Guelph Children's Foundation.
 

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