Welcome to the website of

JOHN PAHAPILL, P. Eng.

Contents:

Introduction
Education and Personal Background
Awards and Special Recognition
Current Responsibilities
Some of his Professional Responsibilities and Accomplishments

A few Closing Remarks

Links


Introduction

With ref. to Estonian Encyclopedia (pg. 139, part 7, 1994 Edition), we see that the family name Pahapill reaches back to 1645, when a man named Tõnnis Pahapill lived on the Northern coast of the island of Saaremaa (Ösel), situated off the West coast of the Republic of Estonia, on Eastern shores of Baltic Sea. For a map of the region, “click” here: Map!. Around Tõnnis’ homestead developed a village called "Pahapilli küla" (the village of Pahapills), which to this date (mid-2006) is known by its original name. Available genealogy data on the present Pahapill clan goes back to the early 1700-s. For a summary, please click here!; the “full size” Pahapill Family Tree can be viewed from the website of The Pahapill Family Tree.

John (christened Johannes, changed his name to John on arrival in Canada) Pahapill is a fourth generation member of  “Tehna” branch of the Pahapill clan (Tehna is the name of the homestead where he was born, in the village of Võhma, County of Mustjala, Province of Saaremaa, Estonia). He has lived most of his adult life in Canada, where he arrived in 1951 as landed immigrant from Sweden. At the age of 15, in September 1944, he fled from Estonia, his birth-homeland, to Sweden during the thunderous days of World War II, with his parents Julius and Heleene, two-year old sister Anne, three brothers: Raimund (14), Forselius (11) and Aare (8), grandmother Mare 77. Grandmother died in Sweden before rest of the family left for Canada. The original family of seven Pahapills that came to Canada has by now (June, 2006) grown to sixty-one people, including spouses and those who have passed away in the meantime. As noted, the Pahapill family tree, available through the Internet, provides genealogy data about the clan, most of whom live in Estonia, some in Canada, Sweden, England and the USA.

Educational and Personal Background

John  Pahapill, P. Eng., member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Province of Ontario, holds:

  • Bachelor of Applied Science degree (in Mechanical Engineering), University of Toronto (1957);
  • Master of Applied Science degree (Management Sciences), University of Waterloo (1979).

In addition to his formal academic training, John has taken numerous personal development and management training courses, and attended various seminars and workshops arranged by his employers.

John was born in 1929 in Estonia. Further details of his home- and family background are noted above, in the introduction section.

 

Widower, wife – Stella (n. Kiivet) – passed away on September 18, 2007. Two married sons, Carl and Eric and five grandchildren from his previous marriage – with Kristi (n. Läänsoo). John resides in Toronto, at the Palace Pier waterfront condominium home. When possible, he relaxes in Pompano Beach, Florida, at the family ocean-side condo-apartment.  Around the midsummer each year, he tries to spend some time in Estonia, his beloved country of birth.

 

Awards and Special Recognition

  • In recognition of significant contribution made to Canada, to his community and to fellow Canadians, John has been awarded Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the II Golden Jubilee Medal.

 

 The Golden Jubilee Medal and its accompanying presentation documentation

 

November 12, 2002 at the Etobicoke (Toronto) Assembly Hall

Receiving Medal from The Hon. Jean Augustine, Secretary of State - Multiculturalism

  • For his contribution to the Estonian-Canadian community, John was awarded (in 1997) the Estonian Central Council in Canada Medal of Merit.
  • In recognition of his contribution on the Pressure Vessels Safety Information Systems development at the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations, he was awarded (in 1992) the Ministry's Technical Standards Division Employee-of-the-year Award For Innovation.
  • For leadership provided in motivating Government of Ontario employees "... to use energy wisely at work, while traveling, and at home", John Pahapill was awarded (in 1984) Government of Ontario Certificate of Appreciation.

 

Some of his Current Responsibilities / Recent Activities

Even though John retired from full-time employment in 1994, he is using his professional expertise for the benefit of community at large, by participating in leading role in various community undertakings – with Stella, arranging concerts and other cultural events in Toronto for talented Estonians, thus building cultural bridges between Canada and Estonia. Also, assisting Stella in managing the operations of Estonian Arts Centre, a multicultural organization she founded in the mid-seventies.

Presently, John is:

  • President and General Manager, Baltic Business Council of North America (however, this organization has not been especially active in the past few years) – website;   
  • Vice Chairman - Board of Trustees, Estonian Arts Centre - website; Vice President - Administration, Estonian Arts Centre;
  • Director of the "Electronic Estonia in Canada" project -- El-Esto -- an undertaking by Estonian Arts Centre (of Toronto) in liaison with Estonian Institute (of Tallinn), in consultation with the Estonian Consulate General in Canada;
  • Past long-time member of the Executive Board of Estonian Central Council in Canada (a community organization with members elected from its midst on a regular basis, through a process of Canada-wide balloting, website;) Council’s representative at the Baltic Federation in Canada;    
  • Founding Member and a long-time member of the Board-at-large of Tartu College – a student housing project, with some unique community involvement, website;  
  • President (2005 -) of Saarlaste Ühing Torontos (SÜT) – founded in 1956 in Toronto by Canadians either born or with roots on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, a large island (about 50,000 inhabitants) in Eastern part of the Baltic Sea – more about it from website;
  • Past President (2002 – 2004) of the Baltic Federation in Canada (BFC); in 2009-2011 in statutory rotation (between the Latvian and Lithuanian communities in Canada), BFC vice president. For the interested reader, next are a few notes on the Baltic Federation in Canada and the “Baltic Evenings on the Hill”: 
    1. The Baltic Federation in Canada - http://balticfederation.ca/ - is an umbrella organization for the Canadian-Estonian, -Latvian and -Lithuanian communities’ central organizations. One of the key roles for the federation has been from its inception – in the early 1970s – and still is, the development and maintenance of effective social and political links between the three Canadian-Baltic communities and the multicultural Canada as a whole. When the homelands of Baltic peoples were occupied by the Soviet Union, the task of the Baltic Federation included the keeping Canada – through its Ministers of Crown and Government – aware of the political and social conditions that actually existed (as distinct from the information provided by Soviets to the world) in the three Baltic countries. After the regaining of independence by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1991, the role of the Baltic Federation in Canada has changed – it now provides assistance in the development of cultural and business relations between the three Baltic countries and multicultural Canada.
    2. An important vehicle for the BFC in maintaining an effective dialogue with the rest of Canada is the “Baltic Evening on the Hill”, held annually (during the past three decades, only a few years have been missed) in the Parliament Buildings, in Ottawa. In order to get a glimpse of these events, let’s look briefly at the 26th Baltic Evening, held on May 28, 2003 in the West Wing of the Parliament Building. The program for the evening was arranged to share information on opportunities for extended trade and tourism activities between Canada and the three Baltic countries (please click on Program-sheet for the evening!). It should be noted, keynote speech at the gala event was given by the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, who had just returned from an extended visit to the Baltics, during which he had visited and spoken at each parliament of the three Baltic States. In attendance at the gala evening in Ottawa were some 100 members of Canadian Parliament, senior government officials and members from the Diplomatic Core, plus about 75 members of the Baltic diaspora in Canada.
    3. Earlier the same day, the 26th Baltic Evening was preceded by the first “Baltic Business Roundtable” in Canada, with its program designed to examine in more depth the business, trade and tourism opportunities between Canada and the three Baltic States. An overview of the Roundtable discussion topics and of those who spearheaded the various discussions can be seen from its Agenda – just click on its website address!  The Roundtable event was attended by approximately 50 people – about two thirds from the Baltic diaspora in Canada, two from Tallinn, Estonia and the balance by various officials from Government of Canada, mainly from the Department of Foreign Affairs – Foreign Trade.
    4. The other major annual event organized by the BFC is an Ecumenical Commemoration Service in mid-June every year, held in memory of some 100,000 deportees. On June 14, 1941 throughout Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania innocent people, with families, were arrested by the soviets, put into cattle-cars, deported to various gulags (Stalin’s prison camps) in Siberia and placed in forced hard labor. Many perished in the gulags; relatively few survived and were eventually allowed to return home after doing years, even decades of slave labor in the gulags.      

 

           

A Brief Overview of John’s Professional Career

The list that follows provides an overview of John's professional career and some of his accomplishments during the period after graduation from University of Toronto. These are listed in a chronologically reverse order, starting with the period after his retirement and ending with the key responsibilities entrusted to him right after his graduation from University of Toronto.

Part 1:  After Retirement from full-time employment (since January 1994)

John continued to be deeply involved in a number of challenging activities, mainly in the field of Management Consultation, Project Management and Program Development. These include:

  • For the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations, he conducted a Review of the Risk Management Information Systems in use between the private sector Machinery Insurers and the Provincial Regulatory Authority, relating to operating safety of pressure retaining systems.
  • For the Estonian Ministry of Justice, Correctional Services (Justiitsministeerium / Vanglate Amet): he conducted an in-depth review of and provided a professional report with recommendations on Work Programs for sentenced, institutionalized adult offenders held in Estonian correctional facilities. John’s work at the Estonian Correctional Services was recognized and his efforts praised in the Canadian House of Commons by Member of Parliament, Jean Augustine – MP, Etobicoke Lakeshore. Her remarks were reported in the Hansard – the official record of debates in Canada’s Federal Parliament on Wednesday, March 19, 1997 – ref: http://www.parl.gc.ca/35/2/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/147_97-03-19/147SM1E.html       
  • Reviewed the existing Project Management and Project Planning and Control Systems for two specialty Food Processing firms in Canada (one in Toronto, the other in Vancouver). Provided recommendations for major changes needed for both systems.
  • Recently, under John’s spearheading and guidance, the Estonian Arts Centre Virtual- or E-Museum was completed –  to view it, “click” on the website of  http://estarts.ca/

 

Part 2: During the last 6 years prior to his retirement, (1988-1994)

At the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations, John held a number of senior level positions, each with its own unique technical, administrative and managerial responsibilities and challenges (e.g. special assistant to the Director of Pressure Vessels Safety Branch; Chief Engineer and Senior Advisor on a new Technical Information Systems Development Project for Pressure Vessels Safety in Ontario.

 Part 3: During his first 14 years with the Ontario Public Service  (1974-1988)

Here, John directed the province-wide Industrial Program operations of Ministry of Correctional Services, where his responsibilities included various senior-level staff and line management functions, often crossing the organizational lines. This required delicate co-ordination and skillful leadership.

In addition to his responsibilities for inmate work programs, John also developed and directed the ministry's Energy Management Program.

Part 4: His last 5 years in the Private-sector Industry (1970-1974)

During the midyears of his professional career, John held the position of Manufacturing Manager at a sizable metal products fabricating plant in London, Ontario.  As the plant was operating on a continuous, three-shift, six days a week basis, this presented special challenges for John and his family. Eventually, and in the interest of his health, he left the position and joined the Ontario Public Service, with the responsibilities already outlined above.

 

Part 5: During the first 14 years of his professional career (1957-1970)

During this period, when he was developing his management style and character, John found employment at the Canadian Division of American Standard, a large US-based multinational corporation. Here, his responsibilities began right after graduating from University of Toronto, in the spring of 1957. Initially, for about a year, he performed Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger thermal and mechanical design work. This was shortly followed by various supervisory and managerial responsibilities, culminating in his appointment (in 1968) as General Manager of the firm's newest corporate entity in Canada, American Standard Industrial Products Canada, Ltd.

In his nearly fourteen years at American Standard, John instigated and spearheaded the founding and development of its Heat Transfer Products Division in Canada. In the process, excellence in product design, care and thoroughness in contract management, promptness in customer service and fairness in dealings with people at all levels became the guiding principles of his work, and have remained the underpinnings of his many-faceted activities and responsibilities ever since.

 

A Few Closing Remarks

In parallel with his interest in researching, developing and publicizing the sizeable (presently containing 1058 names) Pahapill family tree, John has maintained close contacts with his relatives, world-wide, by frequent visits to various locations / countries where sizeable groups of his relatives reside outside of Canada, namely Estonia and Sweden. As well, he has been organizing / helping others to organize Pahapill-clan get-togethers, both in his birth-homeland and in Canada. Ample evidence of this meets the interested person’s eyes when browsing through the various sections of Pahapill Family Tree and Family Book website, which he designed and developed – found at http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/a/h/John-Pahapill-ON/ . Another example of this is a more recent event, for which he did the organizing and pre-event planning – an extended-family get-together in Canada for Pahapills in North America, also known as “The Pahapills 60 Years in Canada”, held in June 2011 at his son Carl’s home in the Muskokas, in Ontario, Canada. An overview of the program for this historic get-together can be viewed from http://pahapill.ca/2011gatheringtimetable.pdf ; the list of registered participants of the event can be found at the website http://pahapill.ca/2011gatheringlist.pdf .

           

John can be reached by e-mail

 

Links:

 

 

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Last updated: January 2, 2012