Eric T. Webster
Red & White - Spring/Summer 2004

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1916-2003

   Eric Webster hated wearing a tie. He found them too restricting, too formal for a man whose greatest joy was tinkering under the hood of one of his many cherished antique cars.

   But in all the photos of Eric Webster during his tenure as chairman of the board of trustees at Stanstead College, he is almost always wearing a tie – at the opening of LeBaron Hall, the Amaron Gymnasium, and the Ralph Hood Swimming Pool, or at social functions such as his own testimonial dinner in 1975 honoring his 11 years as chairman.

So many photos – and so many ties – are testament to the time, effort, and productivity  Eric Webster dedicated to Stanstead College from the moment he became a trustee in 1949, through his term as chair from 1964 to 1975 (the longest in the school’s history), and to the end of his life as Honorary Chairman.

A man known for his warmth, perseverance, and quiet wit, Eric Webster died October 11, 2003 at the age of 87.

“He was a very straight-forward, down-to-earth, generous kind of man,” said John Colby, who served with Webster as a trustee and succeeded him as chairman. “He did a lot for the school over the years.”

Eric Webster was one in a long line of Websters involved with Stanstead College, going back to the school’s founding with Andrew D. Webster serving as a member of the board of trustees starting in the 1870s. In 1921, his son, Senator Lorne C. Webster joined the board, serving until his death in 1941. His eldest son, Colin W. Webster, joined the board in 1944, brother Eric coming on board in 1949. Senator Webster’s grandsons Lorne Webster and Philip Webster have also been board members. Great-grandson Matt Price-Gallagher is a current trustee.

Philip Webster, still an active trustee, recalls how he himself came to the board:

“I moved to the Townships in 1972 after university and it wasn’t long after that that I got a call from Uncle Eric. He said, ‘Guess what you’re going to be doing?’ His older brother had made pretty much the same call to him in 1949.”

The Webster family’s dedication to Stanstead College – connected by their Methodist roots – exists despite the fact that none ever attended the school. Though the family also had connections with Bishop’s College School, Stanstead was closest to their hearts.

“I think Eric felt BCS had all the support it needed. Stanstead didn’t at the time,” said Colby, whose family’s connection to the school is as deep as the Websters’. “Basically, he wanted to try to even the playing field a little bit.”

And even it he did. During his tenure as chairman, Stanstead College went through a period of tremendous growth, with a growing student population and the construction of three new buildings. It was also a period of considerable upheaval internally, with the school going through three headmasters, including Raymond Lester, who was killed in a car accident during his term.

“For a long time, Eric was what kept the school together and moving forward,” said Philip Webster.

A Royal Canadian Air Force veteran, president of J.S. Mitchell & Co., founder of Eastern Townships Warehousing Ltd., Webster was also a family man and a gentleman farmer, raising Herefords on his farm in North Hatley. The farm was also the site of an annual summer meeting of the trustees, an informal get-together that reinforced the bonds of the Stanstead College family.

Webster was also conscious of the student life, quietly offering financial assistance to more than one student who might otherwise not have been able to attend school. For Webster, character was more important that money.

“His friends weren’t friends because they were good people to be seen with but because they were good people,” said nephew Philip.

In 1991, Eric Webster and the R. Howard Webster Foundation contributed the funds that led to the construction of Webster House, a new residence for girls.

Son Norman Webster recalled that it was a proud day for his father at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“He was not a young man by that point,” he said. “He was very pleased. He spent a lot of time working on what he was going to say.”

And, yes, he wore a tie for the ceremony.

Though he lived the last 25 years of his life in Ottawa, Eric Webster’s funeral was held at Plymouth-Trinity United Church in Sherbrooke, where he is buried. It is a fitting resting place for a man who adopted the Eastern Townships as his home and gave so much to the community in general and Stanstead College in particular. His is a true legacy of service – a model for today’s students.

Letter written by Eric Webster in November 1975.