Victor W. Marshall: April 11, 1944–August 18, 2018

Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended.

Some voices so vibrant and distinctive, it is hard to think of them stilled.

A man who seldom rested is laid to rest and his absence is tangible,

like the silence after a mighty roar.¹

These words, spoken at the funeral of U.S. Senator John McCain in September 2018, are particularly apt in describing Victor W. Marshall and what his life and career have meant for gerontology in Canada and internationally, and for the Canadian Association on Gerontology. He lived an extraordinarily vivid life as a founding member of the Canadian Association on Gerontology and as a pioneer of social gerontology. His voice has been especially vibrant and distinctive as one of CAG's and gerontology's most committed and passionate advocates. His presence has long been a reliable constant for CAG with his extraordinary unbroken record of attendance at every single CAG annual scientific meeting, from the founding conference in 1971 through 2016. When illness prevented his participation in 2017, he generously provided videotaped reflections of CAG's founding and history, in anticipation of its 50th anniversary. This record is its own extraordinary testament to Victor's commitment and professional "giving" to Canadian social gerontology–and especially so for a colleague who lived in the United States for the past 20 years.

Born in Calgary, and with a Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton University, Victor Marshall had a rich academic career extending over 40 years, from his first academic appointment in the Department of Sociology at McMaster University in 1970; his move to the Department of Behavioural Science² at the University of Toronto in 1981; to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999; to his retirement in 2013. Victor's career-long dedication to social gerontology and the sociology of aging–reflected in his active participation on CAG's executive committees and as an editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal on Aging, and in his legacy of mentorship–have been recognized by numerous CAG awards: the Distinguished Member Award, CAG's highest honour (1998); the Evelyn Shapiro Award for Excellence in Student Mentoring (2008); the Contributions to Gerontology Award (2016); and the Honourary Member Award (2017).

Here we highlight three aspects of Victor Marshall's legacy: his influential research and scholarship, his pioneering leadership, and his exceptional mentoring and community-building.

Influential Research and Scholarship

Victor Marshall was an influential scholar. His record of 14 books, 79 refereed articles, and 92 invited book chapters reflect the range of his impact on the sociology of aging and in social gerontology. Some publications, including seminal volumes such as Aging in Canada: Social Perspectives (1980), literally defined the field of aging scholarship in Canada.

His research both advanced knowledge and broadly transformed understanding of diverse issues in aging from his earliest writing (Last Chapters: The Sociology of Aging and Dying [1980]–ground-breaking in advancing the understanding of the end-of-life in later life)–to his 2016 chapter on "The Interpretive Perspective on Aging" in the influential Handbook of Theories of Aging (3rd ed.).

A sociologist of aging, Victor Marshall had an extensive research program on a range of issues: social interactionist perspectives on aging, family life in old age, structural changes in work and their consequences for workers over the life course, work and retirement, international comparisons of workforce aging in the information technology sector, the global impact of workforce aging on social and health outcomes, and well-being in later life. Victor was widely regarded as a theorist, with his numerous books, chapters, and journal articles focused on social theory in reference to aging and the life course.

The prominent U.S. researcher John Riley identified Victor Marshall as one of the top four international scholars writing about the social psychology of aging and dying, noting in particular how Victor advanced understanding of such concepts as the legitimation of biography, awareness of finitude, and the life review as...