Don Johnston, 91, on Feb. 27. Growing up in Hamilton, a summer stint as a copy boy at the Hamilton Spectator sparked Johnston’s career in journalism, which he pursued right out of high school. In the early 1950s, local radio station CHML persuaded him to come over as their City Hall reporter. He went on to become the station’s news director. In 1972, Johnston made the move to CFRB Toronto as news director where he stayed for 15 years until his retirement in 1987. He was also active in industry endeavours, including helping found the Radio & Television News Directors of Canada (now RTDNA) in 1962. In 1984, he co-founded the Gordon Sinclair Foundation. As a longstanding colleague and close friend of Sinclair’s, Johnston set up the charitable foundation following the broadcaster’s death, which offered a scholarship to young journalism graduates and since 2011 has awarded the annual $15,000 Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary to support a research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist.

Digby Peers, 94, on Feb. 17. Peers studied pre-law at McGill University before transferring to the Royal Conservatory of Music to pursue his passion. He earned his A.R.T.C. and then returned to Pickering College as Music Master before joining CBC Radio in Toronto as Staff Producer of Educational Broadcasters and as Executive Producer of the “Signature” radio series. He was also seconded to the BBC in London, where he produced a series of more than two dozen “World History” radio dramas. Peers relocated to Vancouver in 1979 where he concluded his career with CBC in 1982. He went on to volunteer with Vancouver Co-op Radio.