Claire Victoria Signy Crooks, OOnt, C. Psych., PhD: November 27, 1973 – June 28, 2024
Claire Crooks died at home surrounded by family at the age of 50, following a courageous battle with advanced gastric cancer. Claire would tell us she didn’t lose; she just ran out of innings.
Claire was the beloved wife and soulmate of George Goodall; adored mom to Findlay (“Finn”, 18), Sydney (16), Grady (14), and Matilda (“Tilly”, 11); daughter of Art and Mary Jane Crooks (Lethbridge, Alberta); sister to Morgan (Aimee) of Madison, NJ and Hew (Kate) of Fairfield, CT; daughter-in-law to (late) Bill and Betty Goodall of Sault Ste. Marie; sister-in-law to Rhys and Carol Goodall of Toronto; and the “cool” aunt to (late) Charlie, Crawford, Mary, Riley, Andrew, Shaen, and Evan.
Born in St. Joseph’s Hospital in London Ontario, Claire spent her early years in Pembroke Ontario but grew up mainly in Lethbridge Alberta. Claire traveled to Vancouver Island to attend Brentwood College School, an institution whose informal motto — grit and joy — perfectly matched her approach to life. The friends and experiences gained during her time there were incredibly formative, and it was on a (possibly under-supervised) trip with her Brentwood field hockey team to Bermuda that she first met her future partner George. Vancouver Island and the mountains of the west presented a constant draw to Claire, a passion she has passed on to her children who have had their own adventures on the Island and at Brentwood. During high school, Claire represented Canada with Harambee!, a group of dancers selected from every country of the Commonwealth to tour and perform across New Zealand ahead of the 1990 Commonwealth Games.
Claire started a new chapter when she attended Princeton University, finding joy and community in sports like rowing, rugby, and skiing. Princeton gave Claire friends from around the planet, confidence in her emerging identity as a scholar, as well as her life’s mission — to improve the emotional lives of children. This passion was honed by a summer working at Camp Wediko, a New Hampshire summer residential setting for children struggling with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. She returned to Canada for graduate school, earning a Masters and PhD from Queen’s University, where she felt fortunate to be supervised by (late) Dr. Ray Peters. Dr. Peters remained a mentor throughout Claire’s career, providing a model for how to lead community research, act as a supervisor, and balance the demands of academia and family. While at Queen’s, Claire renewed her relationship with George; the two were married in 2000. The couple later moved to Winnipeg for Claire’s clinical internship, with plans to continue moving west.
Only one thing could keep Claire from moving to the mountains – the opportunity to work with exceptional new mentors. She accepted a post-doctoral position to conduct clinical work with Dr. Peter Jaffe, then at the London Family Court Clinic, and research with Dr. David Wolfe, then at Western University’s Centre for Research on Violence Against Women. Claire continued to work with both through her time at CAMH and Western University, where she became a professor in the Faculty of Education. Her focus was to use a data-driven approach to improve youth mental health, with emphasis on the most vulnerable populations including Indigenous and newcomer communities. She believed strong mental health could be taught just as other academic subjects, with behaviors and strategies designed to improve mental health on an ongoing basis, rather than picking up the pieces when things were broken. The cornerstone program that she co-developed (with Drs. Jaffe and Wolfe and educator Ray Hughes) — The Fourth R — has been deployed successfully in over five thousand schools in Canada and around the World. Claire established the Centre for School Mental Health at Western, which became the leading and largest such centre in Canada, and she published numerous books and peer-reviewed articles.
Claire was a force of nature, a rare combination of intelligence, energy, humour, and kindness. Her global impact included her extensive work in northern Canada, her training of US judges, and her work with Ukrainian and Czech psychologists coping with traumatized refugees from the Ukraine conflict. Her body of work earned her the WORLDiscoveries Vanguard Innovator of the Year award in 2022, and she was named to the Order of Ontario earlier this year, her nomination acknowledging that Claire “inspired a national movement to address youth mental health.”
Her immense professional accomplishments were nevertheless dwarfed by her commitment as a steadfast friend and devoted mom. Claire had many happy places where she loved to spend time with her family, including the cottage on Gloucester Pool and the ski condo at Big White (where, in her memory, we will continue to sing “Thunder Road” while skiing “Born to Run”). Family adventures ranged from RV road trips to the Maritimes, family hiking through atmospheric rivers on Vancouver Island, and ambitious treks to Nepal. Probably the most hours were spent happily in the family’s unheated backyard pool, no matter the weather or water temperature – but any place would do for Claire to be there for her kids, with her boundless energy and wicked sense of humour.
Shortly before her death, and despite being in overwhelming pain, Claire on June 21 accepted investiture to the Order of Ontario from Lt. Governor Edith Dumont, in a hastily convened ceremony at Victoria Hospital. Following the presentation, Claire somehow rose painfully to her feet and delivered impromptu remarks that were humble, funny, grateful, and hopeful. She then attended her own afterparty. Everyone present was astounded, but nobody who knew her was surprised. According to Claire, “Celebration before sorrow; there will be time for tears tomorrow.” Claire will remain an inspiration for all of us on how to live fully and well, and how to die with courage, grace, and dignity.
Friends and family are celebrating Claire’s life on Friday, July 26 at Western University’s Great Hall (Somerville House). A structured ceremony will be held from 4-5 PM, to be followed by a drop-in reception. All are welcome.
Claire had recently given her financial support to two CRA-registered Canadian organizations: The Boundless School (https://theboundlessschool.com/) and Gakino’amaage: Teach For Canada (https://teachforcanada.ca/en/). She also supported the 501c(3) Above the Clouds (https://abovethecloudskids.org/), in recognition of our nephew Charlie’s passion for flying. Claire would be honoured by the financial support of any of these worthy initiatives.