George Blake Philip Farrow, FRAIC, OAA (retired)

It is with heavy hearts the family of George Blake Phillip Farrow announces his passing on July 2, at the age of 92 in Oakville. George is survived by his children Mark (Cynthia, Lorraine Rohm), Tye and Grant. GG (as known by the grandkids) will be fondly remembered by Adam, Conor (Sarah), Brendan, Caroline and Julia as well as his great-grandchildren, Rowan and Liam. George was predeceased by the love of his life, Diane along with brothers Milt and Grant (Jill) and his parents Arnold and Elda. George will also be deeply missed by his many nieces and nephews and their children, as well as Mary Farrow, Milt’s wife.

George was born on April 26, 1934, in Guelph, Ontario, the first of twin brothers, arriving at noon a full hour ahead of his brother Grant, a head start he liked to joke that Grant never quite made up at the dinner table.

In 1936, when George was two, the Farrow family settled in Oakville, the town that would become the canvas for his life’s work. He grew up on Kerr Street and later Forsythe Street in an Oakville of fewer than five thousand people.

A natural leader from his earliest years, George attended Westwood and Central Schools, the latter standing where the Centennial Library and pool he would one day design now sit. In high school he was the school football teams’ quarterback, captain of the basketball team, president of the Boys’ Athletic Association, and elected Mayor of Oakville’s Rotary-run “Teen Town,” an early sign of the civic devotion that would come to define him. Many of the friends from those days were still close until his passing.

George graduated from the University of Toronto’s School of Architecture in 1959 and, that September 13th, married the love of his life, Diane, whom he first met in high school.

He joined the firm of Dunlop, Wardell, Matsui and Aitken, opened its first Oakville office in 1959, and rose to partner. After a grave illness in 1969 kept him from work for nearly a year, George, with the resilience that marked his whole life, co-founded Dunlop Farrow Aitken in 1970. That practice grew into the internationally recognized firm, known today as Farrow Partners.

Over a remarkable career, George designed more hospitals than any architect in Ontario at the time and served as managing partner for the decade-long design and development of Canada’s national disease control laboratory in Winnipeg. Closer to home, he gave Oakville many of its landmarks, including the downtown Central Library, the performing arts theatre, and the community pool built to celebrate the town’s centennial. He designed four buildings for Sheridan College and later chaired its Board of Directors, a role he called the most invigorating of his career.

In recognition of his contributions to his community, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

George measured his life not in buildings but in service. A Rotarian for more than sixty-seven years, he embodied the motto “Service Above Self.” Beginning with his university thesis on housing for seniors, he helped the Rotary Club of Oakville pioneer affordable and social housing, including Rotary Gardens, Trafalgar Senior Homes, Rotary Centennial Tower, and Normandy Place among them, ultimately helping create hundreds of homes for seniors and residents with special needs.

“You’ve got to use your head,” he once said of the work. “There are Rotarians who are thinkers, dreamers and schemers, in other words, we get things done.” He served as President of the Club in 1994. As an Elder of Knox Presbyterian Church (the youngest ever elected at the time) and more recently the first male member of the Chancel Guild, he lived his strong faith every day. He was also an Assessor Elder at St. David’s Church, Campbellville for many years. George was widely known as the ‘official greeter’ for both Knox Oakville and Rotary, always ready with a warm smile and handshake.

George’s gifts extended well beyond architecture. He was a devoted artist whose intricate, lifelike bird carvings won awards across the region; a craftsman who rebuilt antique automobiles; a chef, a golfer, avid swimmer, and the author/illustrator of a children’s book, Miss Lizzy.

George believed, and often said, “Be generous in all that you do, that’s what makes the world go round.”

A celebration of ‘all things George’, will occur at Knox Presbyterian Church Oakville on September 12, 2026, where his ashes will be interred in the adjacent Knox Memorial Garden and Farrow Cloister (which he designed and dedicated along with his brothers to their parents), with a reception to follow. More details will be released closer to the date.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to Knox Presbyterian Church Oakville or The Rotary Club of Oakville, RCO Foundation.