HANCOCK, Peter Julian Arthur

Peter Julian Arthur Hancock

16/3/1938 - 18/12/2023

Peacefully on Monday, December 18th, 2023 at the Greater Niagara General Hospital. Peter arrived in Canada in 1940 at Pier 21 in Halifax, a two year-old war guest of the Dominion, evacuated from England along with his mother and sister. He left us in his eighty-sixth year with a distinguished record of serving the country that became his home. He found his métier in diplomacy and during his long career in Canada’s foreign service became one of its most skilled practitioners, with an abiding commitment to advancing Canada’s interests on the world stage.

Welcomed by the generous Moyer family to the Niagara Peninsula, they lived during the war in Vineland Station, and later moved to St. Catharines. At Queen’s University he studied political science, wrote poetry, produced theatre, and met Eleanor Toren, whom he married in 1960. In postgraduate study of the history of ideas at Brandeis University under Herbert Marcuse, he had hoped to savour the great works, but found that academics spend more time reading one another. Disappointed, he left.

As a young man of letters gifted in languages, he joined the Department of External Affairs as part of the celebrated class of ‘63. His inaugural posting was to Yugoslavia during Tito’s presidency, where as a junior officer he got his first indelible taste of the Cold War up close. Next came Moscow under Brezhnev, where he assisted with Pierre Trudeau’s landmark 1971 visit and experienced the thrill of being embroiled in the 1972 Hockey Summit Series. A posting to Barbados followed and was an opportunity to explore the culture and geopolitics of a different part of the world.

When he returned to Moscow in 1979 it was as deputy head of mission, an expert in East-West relations, and one of the most skilful interpreters of the Soviet Union — just in time for Canada’s boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. As head of policy planning in Ottawa in the early 1980s, he led development and elaboration of foreign policy, and accompanied Gorbachev on his influential 1983 visit to Canada. Later that year, he worked directly with PM Pierre Trudeau on his International “Peace Initiative”, helping to pen the seminal Guelph speech. A stint as deputy head of mission in West Germany from 1985-1989 was followed by the role of Ambassador to both Poland and East Germany, where he witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall. His final posting was Ambassador to Turkey from 1993-1996.

After retiring from public service he was appointed Head of Regional Office in Banja Luka for Republika Srpska, implementing the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia and Herzegovina (an American initiative under President Clinton). Upon his return to Canada, he taught for several years at the Munk School for Global Affairs & Public Policy, and at Trinity College, University of Toronto.

Despite living much of his life abroad, home for Peter was always the Niagara Peninsula. His knowledge of the region was encyclopaedic and up-to-date, from natural history, local politics, the best plays at Shaw this season, the best restaurants and wineries, its demographics and cultural enclaves, to, always, always, the history of the place. It was his terroir, and the pond hockey rinks of his youth, the music and pizza in Buffalo, and the multicultural community he grew up with in St. Catharines shaped his character in enduring ways. It was no surprise that upon retiring he would move back to his roots and establish a home in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Peter was a consummate story-teller, and a brilliant conversationalist when it pleased him. He was possessed of a great roaring laugh and was a man of keen insight, rare wit and towering erudition. He was a constant and voracious reader. Peter will be sadly missed by his four children (Christopher (Pat), Max (Karen), Martha (Jeffrey), Claudia (David)) and six grand-children (Julia, Ben, Jasmine, Zoe, Aidan, Tara), and by friends and family at home and around the world.

The family thanks the many friends, neighbours and care staff who made his last years as comfortable as possible despite declining health, and allowed him to remain in his home where he was happiest.

As per his wishes, his ashes will be interred at Niagara Lakeshore Cemetery, and a “congenial but not lugubrious” event will be held to mark his passing and celebrate his life at Morgan Funeral Home in Niagara-on-the-Lake in a few months. Please check the funeral home website for service details.

Donations if desired may be made to Gillian’s Place in St. Catharines, or The Chautauqua Oaks Project ℅ the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake Tree Fund. Condolences at www.morganfuneral.com

And this gray spirit yearning in desire

To follow knowledge like a sinking star,

Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

 — Tennyson