Farley Woodland Magee was a part of life in Boyle Street and McCauley for years. He loved to be outside walking in every sort of weather and covered thousands of kilometres over the years, walking every street and alley, often with his guitar on his back and a bulging bag of books and crossword puzzles at his side.

One of the last times he was active, a few days before his death, he took part in the Standing Together walk from Mary Burlie Park to Giovanni Caboto Park to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Music brought peace to Magee’s heart. If you gave him a line or two from almost any old folk or rock song, he could give you the song. His own compositions would be slow careful detailed work, poetically powerful and musically lovely.

Magee brought music to many events in the community. He sang at the Community of Emmanuel Sunday service at Bissell Centre every week for many years. He was part of the annual Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness memorial service, and at the memorials held at Bissell Centre for community members who had died. He appreciated the music of others too and looked forward to Heart of the City Festival each spring when he could sit on the grass and listen to diverse performers.

Magee read widely and enjoyed talking about books. He loved the variety of people around him and appreciated time to share ideas in long conversations.

Magee wanted to understand what life was about, what it meant to be a person. His favourite book was the Bible. He struggled to understand a world where there was pain and hurt and suffering. His own experience with losing a daughter when she was very young affected him deeply and inspired him to seek satisfying answers about life and death, to ask difficult questions, even as he held to a deep strong faith in God.

Magee’s search for meaning did not make him dour. He had a sense of humour and appreciated good puns in particular, and loved to explore the meaning of words.

He cared about the environment. His bag always had a collapsible cup he preferred to have filled rather than take a throwaway one. He picked up trash left by others. He honoured the teaching of First Peoples about the need for each person to actively care for creation, to respect all our relations.

If you have lived in the community for a while, you have probably chatted with Farley Magee at some time. He will be missed by many.

Jim Gurnett is a social justice advocate who is also a former board member of Boyle McCauley News.