Passing of member of first National Spiritual Assembly of Canada

Photo: Bahá’í Community of Canada

Below is a letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada to the friends and family of Dr. Ross Woodman, who served on the first National Spiritual Assembly. Please click here  to read an article about Dr. Woodman’s life that was published by the Canadian Baha’i News Service.

The National Spiritual Assembly was deeply saddened to learn of the passing on 20 March, 2014 of Dr. Ross Woodman, who is remembered with gratitude and affection. Among Dr. Woodman’s distinctions was his service as one of nine members elected to serve on Canada’s first National Spiritual Assembly in 1948.

Dr. Woodman enrolled as a Bahá’í in January 1945, coincident with his own student days. One of Canada’s leading authorities on Romantic literature, Dr. Woodman had a long and distinguished career as a professor in the English Department at the University of Western Ontario. For him, the subject of his scholarship and the Faith that he had embraced were one and the same thing: his lifelong conviction was that the work of the Romantics was itself a reflection of the influence of the Bahá’í Revelation on sensitive minds in the English-speaking world.

A captivating speaker and teacher, Dr. Woodman was known for his love of beauty, infectious enthusiasm and animated encouragement of art and artists in the wider community – all cherished reflections of a life devoted to the Cause. Our prayers are offered for the progress of his soul throughout the realms of God and for the comfort and consolation of his beloved wife Marion, his family and friends.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada