(?-1996) Executive Secretary of the RASC (1958-72).

MARIE FIDLER was Executive Secretary of the Society from 1958 to 1972 and has been Editorial Assistant for the Journal ever since. During her years at the national office, she cheerfully handled a growing avalanche of work as Handbook sales heady tripled and membership increased by over 70 percent. She proofread the Journal, arranged for advertisements in the publications, looked after the needs of three tenants, supervised the daily operation of the library and always took time to answer enquiries from school-children and to pass the time of day with visitors. Her joie de vivre, so well shown in this photograph [see Looking Up, p.30], has won her countless friends in all parts of the country.

Marie's first marriage to James Fidler was blessed with two boys (and now three grandchildren). Her second marriage to Sam Litchinsky was an RASC romance which blossomed at the 1971 General Assembly in Hamilton and led to their wedding in Amherstburg, Ontario, the following year. They only had a year together before Sam's death, but Marie stayed on in Calgary, taking an active part in the Centre as Secretary. Following her return to Toronto in 1978, she continued her service to the Society as national Treasurer.

As a high school student at Toronto's Northern Secondary School, Marie won a gold medal for Pitman shorthand. In 1967 she was awarded Canada's Centennial Medal for her extensive volunteer work with hospitals and her dedication to the RASC, and in 1978 she received the Society's Service Award.

—Peter Broughton (from Looking Up)

Further Reading

• Remembering Marie Fidler, JRASC (April 1996)
• JRASC articles by Marie Fidler.