Contributions to the tribute of Park McKnight Reilly

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Greg Reilly posted a condolence

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Dad was a wonderful and complex man. He struggled with deep personal issues but he had enormous energy, passion, and conscience, and he accomplished a great deal to make the world a better place. He suffered badly in his last six months but he never lost his true nature or his loving spirit to the very end of his conscious life.

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Fiona posted a condolence

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Park was a very welcoming person who had the ability to put people at their ease. He was devoted to Veva and both his immediate and extended family and always enjoyed his food and a Polish beer. Park had a zest for life and wanted to participate as much as possible, even if it was just going through the drive-through at Tim Hortons. A wonderful man who will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Fiona

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Aloke and Siri posted a condolence

Saturday, November 13, 2021

[Aloke:] Park was generous, kind, humane, and a fount of knowledge and stories, but most of all, he was unforgettable. For as long as I knew him, he retained an almost childlike curiosity about statistics to be sure, but also about whatever else caught his eye, and it seemed to me that this need to understand made him such a great researcher and engaging teacher. Park was my first statistics lecturer, and almost ten years later later my PhD supervisor, but in between, I got to know Park and Veva a little differently - my wife, Siri Barrett-Lennard, and her family lived on the same street as the Reilly family for many years, and it was such a pleasure to have them both at our wedding reception on a very hot day in Niagara-on-the-Lake in September, 1985. And when our first child was born, he gave us - what else? - but a little sweater that he had knitted himself. Despite moving to Australia, we kept in touch with Park and Veva over the years, and he maintained a strong interest in our children’s musical careers. I still have many books that Park had purchased for me during my PhD, complete with Park’s P. Eng. stamp, as well as a CD of a Bach Passion - when it came to vocal music, Park much preferred Verdi and Rossini to Bach! [Siri:] I will always remember Park with great admiration and affection. He has been one of the great influencers of my life, teaching me much about integrity by example. When I was small, I was in awe of him, but as I grew, he reached out to me in ways that I will always treasure. Although I didn’t understand at the time when I called him Mr Reilly, and he responded, “call me Park, or call me Dr Reilly, but never call me mister!”, I did understand when he invited me and my sisters to chop down a Christmas tree with him one snowy evening. He was incredibly generous and helpful to everyone who came within his radar, including my family, and was one of our oldest (!) and most loyal friends over the years. He is much beloved by all the Barrett-Lennards. Our deepest condolences, and those of all the Barrett-Lennards in Australia and Canada, to Veva and Jim, Fron, Jeff, and Greg.

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Janet Casagrande posted a condolence

Thursday, November 11, 2021

One of my fondest memories of Park is when we arrived at the family reunion and happily found that we were both still able to be there. As Patriarch of the family, Park would always speak and would tell stories from the family history that we enjoyed hearing. He always brought a hat to pass so that we would have enough funds to ensure the next years reunion. You are missed dear cousin.

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Alex Penlidis posted a condolence

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

I met Park in 1981, in a Stats meeting of some departments of Chemical Engineering in Ontario (at the time, Waterloo, Western and Queens). I became his colleague at Waterloo's Chem Eng in 1986. Park was on the hiring committee for me and he asked me the most difficult questions (both technical and non-technical). When I joined the department, he had the most encouraging comments and advice for me. I consider Park (or PMR) as one of my most valued mentors. PMR and my graduate students were very close and several literature papers came out as part of this collaboration, in the next 25 years or so. PMR had a great sense of humour and a deep knowledge of Chem Eng aspects, both academic and industrial. I will never forget the many long discussions we have had over the years, over a beer (or two), always starting with Chem Eng topics, then Statistics, and finally socio-cultural-political-art-opera-music-theatre topics. My deepest condolences to the family! Alex Penlidis

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Miles A Lauzon pledged to donate to Park and Veva Reilly Silver Medal

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

In memory my teacher, my mentor and Linda and my dear friend.

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Miles Lauzon posted a condolence

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

I had the great good fortune to have Park as my PhD supervisor from 1972 to 1974. Park was very special to me: my teacher, my mentor and my dear friend for nearly fifty years thereafter. I will miss him greatly. Park loved his work and his academic “children”. His greatest disappointment as the years passed was that he was no longer able to interact with graduate students. Of course, his work lives on in his many scholarly publications. Perhaps lesser known was his treatise on the lateral displacement possible for curling rock. Or his gambling success with the birthday bet. Beyond his work, Park was generous, genuinely caring and always provided just the right encouragement when anyone needed it. His passing mere months before his 100th birthday and his and Veva’s 75th wedding anniversary is indeed sad. Linda and I are so glad that we were able to visit with them a couple of times just before the restrictions of the Covid-19 virus were imposed. With sincere condolences to Veva and the boys, Miles and Linda Lauzon

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Bob Hudgins posted a condolence

Saturday, August 15, 2020

To say anything about Park is to have to use the words “most unforgettable character.” He was certainly that as a teacher and particularly of statistics. As a man who dealt with uncertainty, there was no vagueness or ambiguity in his teaching. He was a natural instructor of his favourite subject because he could understand the pitfalls in which a student could get stuck. An outstanding feature of Park was his humanity. He would work with any student who showed an interest. He also loved opera and had a great collection of recordings. I think opera led him to learn Italian so he could fully appreciate the way opera blended the arts of music, language, and gesture. For some odd reason, he took up knitting to produce a garish tam or scarf that could identify him from afar, at least outdoors in winter. We will not see his like again. But while we had him, he gave us a model of generosity of his time, his abilities, and his devotion to excellence. We offer our condolences to the Reilly family. Bob Hudgins and Virginia McQuay

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Jerrold Lerman posted a condolence

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Robin and I extend our condolences to the McKnight Reilly family with your loss. If you asked me how I would describe Park Reilly, I would have quickly responded: engaging, passionate and patient. Without a doubt, he exuded the qualities that defined the ideal teacher. He engaged his students at every level of understanding and ensured that his lesson held a message for each. From the basic building blocks of statistics to sophisticated analyses, Park would leave no Chem Eng student behind. In some instances, he came in to the Chem Eng building on Saturdays to proctor those who needed extra time to follow his erudite statistical lessons and others who wished to take his lessons far beyond the basics. He was passionate about statistics, everyone who met him immediately perceived it. I recall speaking with him long after I left engineering and he retired from the faculty. He and I discussed how to reduce the sample size in a clinical research study I was designing. Hearing my plight, he jumped right in offering his thoughts that a Monte Carlo simulation would perfectly suit my needs. And he did this in the gentlest and most disarming of ways that only Park could do. This one example cemented in my mind, who Park Reilly was. A humble, brilliant teacher and the consummate gentleman, who left indelible positive impressions on the characters of those students who were fortunate to spend time with him during our formative years and to garner a love of statistics, even for those with arithmophobia. May you rest in peace, my friend. Robin and Jerrold Lerman

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Paul Sigurdson posted a condolence

Thursday, July 2, 2020

My deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Park Reilly. Dr. Reilly was such an energetic bright light in the Chemical Engineering Department at Waterloo. I fondly remember him showing our class one of the petroleum distillation towers he designed in Sarnia exhibited on the back of the old $10 dollar bill . He will be missed.

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Daryl Baker posted a condolence

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

My sincere condolences to the family of Dr. Park Reilly. As a new chemical engineering student in 1969, class of 1974, I had the honour of being taught calculus and statistics by Park. He was a lovely man, knowledgeable in so much and willing to share what he knew. He taught me much about mathematics but perhaps more importantly showed me how to be a good person , one who understood kindness and respect. He helped us all become better engineers and better people. RIP, Park.

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Wayne Schlote posted a condolence

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

So sorry to hear of Park's passing. The class of ChE74 was always pleased to rub shoulders with Park and Veva at many social events from 1969-1974. Plus, he was an eminent statistician and taught us everything we needed to know about natural variation. Anyone who makes it to his 100th year wasn't cheated very much. RIP, Park! You were a favourite!

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The family of Park McKnight Reilly uploaded a photo

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Park McKnight Reilly

1920 - 2020