JOHN MICHAEL "MIKE" PEARSON

1933 - 2024

1933 - 2024 John Michael Pearson, born in Halifax, England, to Charles Vernon Pearson and Kathleen Mary Dawson, died suddenly in Montreal on December 18. He was loved, admired, nagged, coached, adored, criticized, teased, and respected. At ninety-one he strode briskly upright throughout NDG. We thought he would go on forever. He was educated at Sowerby Bridge Grammar School, King's College, London (BSc), and McMaster University (PhD). After a post-doc year at Case Institute in Cleveland, he joined the Department of Nuclear Physics at Université de Montréal as a theoretical nuclear physicist. For almost four decades until his death he collaborated with the Department of Astro-Physics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. In addition to hundreds of scientific papers, he published two books: A Theory of Waves (1966) and Nuclear Physics: Energy and Matter (1986). Just before he died unexpectedly on December 18th he finished drafting his third book, a history of nuclear energy. He was also a hill-walker and Alpine hiker, long-distance runner, cross-country skier, reader of 19th-century novels in English, French, and German (Russian in translation), bread addict, marmalade-lover, strict grammarian, Guardian reader, Guinness-drinker, maker of porridge, and user of pocket protectors and clip-on sunglasses. He never owned a pair of jeans. He is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Ann and Jack Taylor in England; children, Susan and David (from his first marriage) and Sarah (from his second marriage); granddaughter, Nina; and wife of 43 years Elaine Bander; as well as his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Yigal and Ellen Bander; his many nieces and nephews; and the graduate students and post-docs whom he nurtured, who remained friends and collaborators. Dr. Morin and the staff of the Jewish General Hospital gave him compassionate care (donate@jghfoundation.org). A celebration of Mike's life is planned for early 2025.