We are very sad to announce that Kevin Pickard, former Toronto Vegetarian Association (now VegTO) president, passed away on April 9th from a recently diagnosed serious illness. He was one of the original influencers of the modern Canadian vegan and vegetarian movement and a friend to many.
We know his death will be a terrible shock to all who knew and loved Kevin, in Canada and around the world. Kevin was so very generous of his time, and technical expertise. He was president of the Toronto Vegetarian Assoication for 7 years until 2000, remaining a board member until 2008. He was also a key member of the IVU – International Vegetarian Union – rising to Chairperson from 2000-2002. Kevin was a technical wizard and shared his knowledge freely, helping set up data systems for those he volunteered with. Kevin was vegan for over 30 years, and vegetarian for years before that too. Even though he’d stepped back from official roles, he and his family made sure to attend each Veg Food Fest (now VegTO Fest), he keenly followed the organization's progress, and he came to a vigil for the chickens a few years back too. He was the real deal.
RIP Kevin, you’ll be so missed by so many.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, April 17th from 5-8 pm at the Chapel Ridge Funeral Home in Markham.
