Members of Toronto council paused Thursday in tribute to Fred Johnson, a former Scarborough councillor called "Mr. Fred" by his many friends.
A dedicated community volunteer, Johnson died this month, but lived long enough to hear a local green space will be named in his honour.The condolence motion was brought to council by his former colleague Brian Ashton.Johnson who raised his family in Guildwood, also founded the Scarborough Girl's Hockey League and East Scarborough's first drop-in centre for youth, and served 20 years on the executive of the Guildwood Village Community Association.Named 1978 Citizen of the Year, Johnson was elected a councillor in the former City of Scarborough in 1988 and served until amalgamation in 1997.Johnson was also a citizen member the Scarborough Board of Health, founded the Guildwood Indian Football Team and "confronted challenge after challenge in his community and beyond," the motion says."Fred spent countless hours flooding two neighbourhood outdoor ice rinks, even though he could no longer skate."On Aug. 17, shortly before Johnson died, Scarborough Community Council decided to name a piece of land where a community garden was planted last year east of the city-owned Campbell Estate on Kingston Road, as Fred Johnson Park.Ashton said a ceremony dedicating the park would take place in September or October.