Marvin Gord was determined to make a difference—one step at a time.
In 2020, the near-centenarian strode into virtually every headline and newscast in Toronto by announcing that he planned to walk one million steps to raise money and awareness for seniors’ care.
The “Marvin’s Millions” campaign was launched in the summer of 2020, with Gord’s lofty goal of raising $1 million—one dollar per step—by his 99th birthday on Dec. 31 that year.
This was catnip for media outlets, and Gord’s name and plan became an irresistible feel-good story. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and Toronto Mayor John Tory all joined in cheering Gord on.
Using his trusted walker, he estimated he would complete between 500 and 750 kilometers.
In the end, he exceeded his goal, walking 1.3 million steps, for a total of 991 kilometers.
His fundraising goal, however, fell short. He raised about $110,000 for the Baycrest Foundation’s SOS (Safeguarding Our Seniors) campaign for protective measures and medical equipment to safeguard residents, patients, and staff during the COVID pandemic; for equipment to treat patients remotely; and for patients and residents to connect with families.
His daughter, Lisa Hemi, said Gord regarded his achievement as “so ordinary. He really wanted it to help.”
Gord died at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital on Jan. 28, nearly a month after his 101st birthday.
He’d walked for years, averaging about three miles a day since surviving a heart attack in 1980.
“No matter what, I walk 20 miles a week,” he told a reporter in 2020. “If it’s not a nice day, I’ll go to one of the malls. It doesn’t matter whether I want to or not, I do it.” It wasn’t until he was 97 that he started to use a walker.
He challenged others to walk with him on his fundraising odyssey. “But you have to keep up,” he warned with a laugh.
He was inspired by English war veteran Tom Moore, who had raised money by completing 100 laps around his garden with the aid of a walker just prior to his 100th birthday.
“This guy has a garden just 25 metres long,” reasoned Gord, himself a Second World War veteran, in an interview at the time, “and it got him about 50 million bucks. So I thought ‘What the hell? I’m going to do about 20 miles a week, approximately, which is about 100 times what he does in a year. Maybe we’ll get a few million bucks too.’”
Gord was a polymath by any standard. Born in Toronto on the last day of 1920, he was a radar specialist for the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Air Force, in Germany, England and Italy during the war. He’d wanted to be a pilot but was disqualified for poor vision. It didn’t help that he was afraid of heights.
At war’s end, he studied at the University of Toronto and became a pharmacist. A dozen or so years later, he returned to U of T for a psychology degree, and then, at age 60, earned a law degree. He practiced law but did not like the work, and lasted about a year.
He was also an executive for large Canadian retail companies, including Simpsons and Peoples Credit Jewellers. At age 83, he completed the Canadian Securities Course, earning an A+.
On top of all that, he taught finance and human resources at Centennial College.
“The man is a Swiss Army knife of professional skills,” Baycrest once noted in a profile on Gord.
“I’ve had a million different jobs,” he said in the story. “But the best of the lot was as a college professor. I loved the kids and they loved me.”
Asked the secret to his longevity Gord told a reporter: “One shot of Johnnie Walker Black once a day.” To another journalist, he offered: “Just a gallon of Johnnie Walker Black a day.”
More soberly, he added: “I have no sugar and no salt in my diet and lots of fiber. It’s the way I live.”
Gord’s connections to Baycrest ran deep.
His grandmother, Yenta Maldover, was in the Ezras Noshem Society, which founded Baycrest’s predecessor, the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home on Cecil Street, in downtown Toronto in 1918.
His mother, Eva Brownstone, volunteered for many years at Baycrest and was later a resident at its Apotex Centre, Jewish Home for the Aged. Gord’s wife, Nancy, was in palliative care at Baycrest and died in 2015.
Gord himself was not a resident but volunteered for Baycrest’s Brain Project memory clinic. According to the facility, he tested well.
“Thanks to Marvin’s Million, (Gord’s) children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will see how Marvin gave back to the community,” said Rafi Yablonsky, formerly manager of major gifts and donor development at the Baycrest Foundation, who told The CJN that he became “super close” with Gord.
“Everyone touched by him or his story will become upstanding citizens by following his example,” Yablonsky said. “Marvin was a remarkable man.”
Baycrest’s profile noted that in 2020, Gord directed a question about advice for the next generation to his grandson, Aaron Silver, who recounted his zayde’s words: “Don’t be afraid to take risks. You are only as good as your reputation and your word. Be generous with your time and money. And above all else, family is the most important thing in life.”
Gord is survived by three daughters, Lisa Hemi, Sharon Arbus, and Jemmie Silver; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren
With files from Susan Minuk
