Liam Neumann and his dog Brody.Courtesy of family
Liam Neumann: Son. Dog lover. Adventurer. Game changer. Born Feb. 17, 1989, in St. Catharines, Ont.; died June 25, 2023, by drowning; aged 34.
Liam grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., surrounded by water, theatre, streets with no sidewalks, and where hockey was played outside all year round. He loved all things active – hockey, basketball, lacrosse, snowboarding; but he was also a devotee of David Attenborough, poetry, classical music and Queen.
A child of separated parents since he was 3, he could walk between our homes in under half an hour. An independent traveller even then, finding his way home would often take him far longer than his playmates.
Liam grew into a citizen of the world. He had multiple trips to Europe as a child and after high school, he spent a gap year traversing Asia. When he returned, he studied at the Universities of Guelph and Waterloo. After graduating from Waterloo with his Master of Development Practice in 2016, he began his work in international Development with UNAC (United Nations Association in Canada) and joined the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, as part of its Young Professional Program. His career took him to four continents, specializing in humanitarian affairs, gender equality, food security and sustainable socioeconomic development.
Liam was a rule breaker – especially when there was no obvious reason for a rule to exist. But significantly, he was making a huge difference by breaking rules that were set up to disadvantage women and children around the developing world. And he was succeeding.
After university, Liam developed celiac disease. While it was often debilitating and certainly changed his social life, it made him an expert in nutrition. It also heightened his wit as he became preoccupied with bathrooms and the most minute of food ingredients. Recurring malaria, after working in West Africa for nearly three years, was another huge challenge to his physical and mental health. But he went from the dark to the light, brilliantly.
He would routinely recite his favourite poems off by heart, from Shelley, Wordsworth, Pope or Shakespeare, to anyone who cared to listen, with a doobie in one hand and a cider in the other.
His travels with his beloved dog, Brody, a feisty, tough little Morkie, were legendary. Brody became as well known in Cote d’Ivoire as he was on the streets of Toronto.
Liam always said he would die for his dog and tragically he did. One Sunday afternoon, he took Brody out on his dinghy on Twelve Mile Creek in St. Catharines. Liam was unfamiliar with the dangers of this dammed inland waterway, regulated by Ontario Power Generation, where calm waters can change quickly, without notice, producing dangerous undertows and currents. Liam was attempting to get himself and his dog to the shore. Brody survived, Liam did not.
I learned so much from my son, about myself, about the challenges of unconditional parenting, and how to nurture a mother-son relationship that allowed us to become each other’s champion and confidante. But it wasn’t always easy. And our passionate red-headed arguments were legendary.
He could be annoying – using our kitchen as a gymnasium, showing off acrobatic feats on the counter, juggling foot-long knives, and getting a kick out of hiding and scaring me when I walked into any room. And indulging Brody’s habit of drinking water from the bathtub tap was a little extreme. However, he did fly me over to Africa first-class when I took Brody to him but, notably, he sent me home in economy.
Everything about Liam was loud, busy, smart, rich and funny. He routinely changed my world. When I think of Liam, I think of all that history. All those stories. All those adventures. And all that laughter.
He once told me that for his end-of-life event, he wanted to be in a glass coffin and sent to the stars. Later this year he will find himself in a firework, in a rocket, fired up to the stars.
Because he was my ultimate superstar.
Barbara Worthy is Liam Neumann’s mother.
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