From the Fall 2007 issue of Nexus.
For most of his professional career, Wolfe Goodman (SJD 1976) was widely recognized for his expertise in charities laws, estate planning and trusts. In his private life, he was a loving father, grandfather and philanthropist who volunteered his time to his community. In memory of his legacy, his two daughters recently made a gift to the Faculty of Law to establish a bursary for students in financial need. The gift has been matched by the Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS) program, the annual payout of which will be awarded to students who demonstrate an interest in the areas of charities law, not-for-profit law, estate planning and trust law.
After completing his B.Comm at U of T in 1946, Wolfe studied at Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1949. His love of learning led him to return to school in 1976 to do a graduate degree at the Faculty of Law. Both daughters cite their father as a positive influence on their professional lives. Joy graduated with an LL.B. from McGill University Law School in 1978 and a degree in civil law from the University of Montreal in 1979. She is now the Director of Legal Services with A & P Canada. Nomi, who shared his mathematical abilities, is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and co-authored two articles on taxation with her father. She currently works at Foresters.
"Shortly after my dad passed away, we started thinking about how we might commemorate his memory," said Joy. "My sister Nomi and I thought it would be a terrific idea to create a bursary that related to some of his interests. He had a true love of giving, and we wanted to help continue that legacy."
Wolfe Goodman was a founding partner of the law firm Goodman and Carr and taught estate planning at the law faculty for many years. He was a prolific writer, with a broad interest in subjects both within and outside of law. In 1998, he received the AMS/John Hodgson Award of the Ontario Bar Association's Charity and Not-For-Profit Law Section. In 2002, he received the OBA's Award of Excellence from the Estates and Trusts Section. He then received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners in 2003 and the Law Society of Upper Canada Medal in 2004. Wolfe and his wife Millie also established the Wolfe and Millie Goodman Foundation, which has contributed to a wide variety of charitable causes in Israel and Canada.
