Alex Knox 1929-2024

[Olga Mushtaler]

Sorry to hear about Alex's passing.

[Ian Findlay]

Very nice tribute Hans. I remember Alex back in the 80's. We shared the same family doctor, the late Dr. Superville, who was also my next door neighbour. Alex was well liked by everyone and I am happy you were able to celebrate his life appropriately.

[Hans Jung]

When I got my first motorcycle I rode to Toronto to visit Alex. He came down to check it out. When he saw it he could have been cynical and call it Jap Crap, but no, he came over swung his leg over the seat, turned the key, kickstarted it and revved the throttle. "Kawasaki? Yes 750". He pulled in the clutch, downshifted and then when I thought he was going to take it for a spin he turned and said: "So whats her top end? 127mph. Have you been there? Oh yes. What happened? She ran out of gas awful fast "- and we both laughed.
A few weeks later I saw him again and he said to me: "That gave me an awful itch. I think I should get me one of those three wheelers." That never happened, at least not then.

Rand (Alex's son) shared with me the story: Alex went up to visit him a couple of years ago in the country north of Bolton. On the way back Alex stopped on the main street in Bolton, there were two lanes on both sides. Alex stopped in the right lane, put his hazards on, and, because everything was closed because of Covid, had a heck of a time finding someone to ask directions. Directions to what? Don't know but Alex was on one of his adventures and he wouldnt stop until he tracked down what he wanted. Meanwhile a good citizen phoned the cops because that car wasnt supposed to be stopped there. When Alex got back he was confronted by an OPP and got into an argument (I could just see it - big grin) Things escalated and the OPP insisted that he redo all the tests for his drivers licence - everything, including the long multi-page questions of the written exam. Alex was a mason ( a grandmaster no less) and could have had the OPP's insistence squelched - all hushed up and done away with - but he didnt. Instead he asked Rand to find him a disability scooter - one of those three wheelers. In the end he got what he wished for. He would haven ridden the sidewalks on Sheppard both sides and definitely the side street down to Wishing Well. Most people would have done 10kmph but Alex probably 30 kms or 40.

Alex lived independently at his apartment for more than twenty five years to the end. He rarely took help. When the end came, he got up in the middle of the night to use the facilities and when he came back from the washroom he fell. Mercifully, he was knocked out.
Alex was a helluvaman and he lived a helluvalife, just the way he wanted it. God bless you my firend, I am going to miss you. Thanks for the memories and being a true friend.

[Hans Jung]

I finally tracked down that Irish Blessing that Padre Fournier shared to end Alex's funeral:

May you forget the things that made you sad, But remember the things that made you glad.

May you forget the friends that proved untrue, but remember those that have stuck by you.

May you forget the troubles that passed away, but remember the blessings that come each day.

[Hans Jung]

eulogy continued:

In the early 80's Alex finally retired, he was retired more than forty years - not many can say that!, and he was able to pursue his love of chess full time! He co-founded the Agincourt Chess Club in 1990 and ran it with the same passion and vigour he had for policing. He was an international arbiter and international chess organizer, a lifetime member of the Chess Federation of Canada, invited to host tournaments as far away as Moscow, and was even an extra in the motion picture "Searching for Bobby Fischer".

He played in and directed many chess tournaments and was even ranked as high as 400 points below a master rating. Although his health had limited him in recent years, you could always see him still making it out to the club every Sunday at noon. Making coffee, taking attendance, and most importantly, making a positive influence on people in our community.

(Here Hans speaking - the I is Hans)

" I have more than a thousand stories of Alex, today I am going to share one."

Alex's favourite form of chess was speed chess - 5 minutes for the game per player. - none of this modern stuff with extra seconds per move - you planned your time and your game - or you lost. When Alex really got into the game his eyes would gleam, occasionally a smile would crack his face and he would hum Italian opera and tap his fingers. When he got his chance he would play the Latvian Gambit - a wild, crazy opening.

Knowing this, when I finally qualified to play in the Canadian Championship, I told him I was going to play the Latvian Gambit. Alex looked at me sharply, pointed his finger, and said: "Bellisimo!" We went back to his apartment to celebrate, had a few beers, Alex's personal brew was as good as some of the fine German beers, and he put on opera - Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. Alex knew quite a bit of Italian and loved to say it with panache and precision.

When I was ready to leave, Alex went to his library and pulled out four books on the Latvian Gambit, those were his treasures, and gave them to me. I said I would give them back to him when I was done. "Keep them" he replied, "I don't need them." That was Alex - if you were his friend he would give you the shirt off his back.

Whether you encountered him at his home, on the phone, at the bank, at the chess club, getting coffee at Tims, feeding the squirrels at Wishing Well park, or maybe you'd run into him at his favorite store where he picked up his beloved cigars, you know the kind of man Alex was: Honest, charming, full of integrity, and most of all - a jokester!

Today, as you recall your favorite thing about him, share these stories with others you know. If it can put a smile on your face, know that he would have liked that very much.

As we put Alex to rest, know that we have all those wonderful memories to sustain us - memories that he gave us - thank you Alex!

[Hans Jung]

Eulogy - Alex Knox funeral - Fri. Jan 3, 2025 - read by Hans Jung

I am very fortunate to call Alex a good friend and am honoured to read Alex's eulogy.
The eulogy is Tara's words and perfect. If anyone listening notices mistakes, they are all mine. (- Hans Jung)

As most of us who knew him would agree, Alex was quite the character. Absolutely full of life, overflowing with great Canadian humour, wit, and boasting that wonderful Irsih charm, he was a real force to be reckoned with.

Alex was born in Cambridge, Ontario during the first year of the great depression. Like millions of Canadians, he always talked about how hard it was for the family making ends meet, fighting thru the weather, and just getting by. He used to tell stories of having cabbage and carrots for days on end and spending all his time playing in the neighbourhood streets getting up to no good. Those days permanently left their mark on him. It was those formative years that made him the kind of man he would become - hard working, enduring, resilient, and most of all - tough as nails.

When the family eventually moved to Toronto, Alex attended Danforth Tech. He played many sports, making the all star football team in his first year, and bragging of being the third fastest swimmer in the entire school.- and it was a big school! He recalled first seeing boys playing chess in the cafeteria and thinking it was an odd thing to do, when one could be playing hockey outside. At graduation, Alex was given a special award for never being absent or late for his entire four years there! As a young man Alex worked odd-jobs always helping to provide for the family. He used to tell us great stories of working as an ice chipper and working at a printing press at 288 Adelaide West. He recalled quitting a few times because the permanent ink stains on his hands were such a bother, but they kept asking him to come back to work. It was during these years where he once again encountered chess thru a co-worker. It was here that his love affair with the game took hold, volunteering with the Chess Federation of Canada.

In the early 50's Alex applied at The Hudson's Bay Company, the R.C.M.P., and the Toronto Police. He said: " I'll join the first one who gets back to me." Eventually, he joined the Toronto Police Force on April 2, 1951 - a role that suited him perfectly, and one that he would proudly fulfill for 31 years. He had so many stories from the force; of tragedy and heartbreak, of going out of his way to help so many in need; motorcycles and cruisers, turning down a sergeants promotion. Remarkably, at the end of his tenure, he was never recorded late or absent - apparently he was better at beating the clock than anyone trying to beat a red light!

[Hans Jung]

The refreshments afterwards were scheduled for half an hour. Refreshments was an understatement. There were many large platters of hearty sandwiches, very fresh fruit varieties and desserts. The coffee was excellent and there were many choices of other non alcoholic drinks. There was even a hot foaming milk machine so you could make lattes. To me it was a good lunch and with all the talking and sharing that was going on it stretched way passed the half hour. After that half hour it was private interment for family only. However none of the family went instead they stretched the talking and sharing for more than an hour. When I left an hour and a half later most of the family had come up and congratulated me and wanted to talk and were only then slowly making their way out for the interment. My table of chess friends was still busy talking. Tara Knox came around and told everybody to help themselves to extra food portions, take it home she urged - we dont want any of it to go to waste.

While I was signing the guest book a young man came over to me who had an uncanny resemblance to a young Alex. He asked: "Do you know me"? I said: "Sure you are Adam" You sure look like your grandfather." I remember waiting at Kitchener City Hall and a big pickup truck pulled up with all my stuff in the back including the Scarboro Chess Club cupboard which Alex built with his own hands.. It was a mini fortress, virtually indestructible, and contained all that was necessary to run any kind of tournament, pairing charts, crosstables for 4, 8, 12, 16 etc sections, scoresheets, all the paraphernalia including a hundred paper boards for children tournaments, 100 cardboard boards and 50 vinyl boards. Your dad Rand was in the drivers seat, you were in the middle, and Alex was in the passenger seat. It was the only time I'd ever seen Alex in the passenger seat of a vehicle." I asked Adam how old he was then and he answered probably twelve. - and that was twenty two years ago. I wished him all the best in life.

[Hans Jung]

Alex's particular attention to detail showed in the planning of his own funeral. The attending minister was a military chaplain from Kingston, Padre Yves Fournier, who I had much interaction with. He came to me towards the start of the memorial to ask if I had any particular request as to the time for doing my reading of the eulogy. I told him I was totally flexible. Then I introduced him to Maurice Smith and Padre Fournier started asking personal questions of chess. We got so caught up in talking that he was shocked to realise that he was late for starting the memorial. Nobody objected. The entire funeral was conducted according to Alex's plans. Padre Fournier read the entire Ecclesiastes 3 (popularly called A Time for Everything) and made many connections with it and examples in Alex's life. It was eerie to sense Alex's hand in it. He finished the memorial with an interesting Irish Blessing that I had not heard before.

[Hans Jung]

Another story Maurice shared was of Yuanling Yuan. You could tell this story personally moved him. Yuanling was a young girl when she joined the Scarboro chess club. One day Yuanling's parents came to Maurice and said Yuanling has been invited to the world championships in Siberia and we cant accompany her and she's only fifteen so she cant go on her own. Maurice went paying his own way (but was reimbursed later by the CFC.) Yuanling came to him later and said she would never forget his help. Yuanling later became a great success. Two years ago she got married in China but her parents brought back for Maurice a huge specialty box of chocolates. The way Maurice told the story was much better and colorful then how I have recounted it here.

[Hans Jung]

It was a very interesting time for me going to Alex's funeral. Friday morning, just after morning rush hour I headed down the 401 to Toronto. Last second impulse I pulled off on Victoria Park and over to Sheppard and Im glad I did. It brought back so many memories. There was Alex's apartment building at the northeast corner of Sheppard and Pharmacy.where he had his comforting apartment for the last twenty-five years. On the south side of Sheppard was the plaza and the variety store where he got his dailies and played the old guy behind the counter chess at the rate of about one move per week. Each game on a pocket set lasted about six months. The side street just beyond led down to Wishing Well park where Alex used to feed the squirrels and enjoy his cigars, coffee, and meditations, and of course passed by Alex's second house where his three daughters were raised.
The funeral home was only two short blocks from Alex on the north side, just before Warden. It was the best funeral I have ever attended. Not only was it held in a luxurious space but the Knox family was especially welcoming. Tara met me at the door and introduced me to her sisters and brother Rand who had changed so much I didnt recognise him.

The first chess player to show up was Glenn Fonseca who had to tell the story to Tara about my sixteen board blindfold exhibition that he'd been a part of back in the day at Agincourt chess club. I didnt want to disillusion him or correct him and only spoke up to tell Alex's part in it.
There was a continuous display of pictures on a big screen of the Knox family and Alex. One highlight was Alex and three other motorcyle officers astride four Harleys in perfect formation as part of a parade. The background vehicles made me judge the picture as being taken in the 50's. Rand provided commentary for the pictures and I was surprised at how much I recognised. There was also a side table of Alex's memoribilia, including an old leather folded over citation book, Alex's medals and awards and other personals(of course many stacked different boxes of his beloved cigars). I'm sure Alex would have liked a smoldering cigar on the table as part of the presentation, unfortunately due to rules and regulations that wasnt possible.

Prominent among the memorabilia was a cherished chess set that had been given to him by a fellow mason. I recalled the story about the set. The particular gentleman who had given him the set had worked at it for over a year. His first career job and later hobby was as a tool and dye worker and he had hand turned each individual piece. The white pieces were made from light rubbed brass and the black pieces from dark rubbed brass. Alex had three sets on display in his apartment living room through all the years that I visited him. They were all precious gifts. Another of the sets was given to him by the library where he did his research when designing the logo for the Agincourt Chess Club. The logo was a symbolic representation of the battle of Agincourt. Alex's meticulous attention to detail didnt allow him to proceed until he had exhaustively researched that historic battle. The library in question had a patron donate the set to them of French and English military figures, including knights and archers of that time period but the set was not being used much so they gave it to Alex.

All told, seven chess players attended the funeral, most of them members and executive of the Agincourt Chess club, and we all sat in one row. A big surprise appearance and a pleasure to me was Maurice Smith. I sat beside him, had a lengthy conversation, and caught up. Maurice is ninety years old now but still mentally sharp, active and agile for his age. When I asked what he was doing with himself he said he was vice president and treasurer of the Scarboro club because nobody else wanted those positions. The big surprise was that he had just finished writing his first book - and wait for this - a murder mystery called The King with an Axe (at least thats what I think he said). Can you imagine! First time writer of a published book at age 90! What an inspiration! Its due out at Amazon in about 4 months. (plug for Maurice)
Maurice started at the Scarboro chess club in 1976 (50 years coming up soon) and first had dealings with Alex at the 1988 Canadian Open in Scarboro, which is where I also got to know Alex. He was talked into joining the executive of the Scarboro chess club that year, and the OCA and the CFC rapidly followed.

[Hans Jung]

I have been asked to read Alex's eulogy at the funeral and I am very happy and honoured to do so.

[Tony Ficzere]

Sad news. Alex was a friend of mine and my wife. I worked with him during my time as OCA Treasurer and we spend many hours together working on chess. He worked tirelessly for the cause for years. "Red" as he was known loved chess. When I first met him I asked him why he was called Red? Of course, I did not know him until he was around 60 so was not aware of his red hair. I remember going to his home with my wife and we would chat for hours, he loved joking with my wife. He was a salt of the earth kind of guy. He made some pretty good beer too! He will be missed. Condolences to his family.

[Hans Jung]

I should also mention that Alex was good friends with Phil Haley and his wife Betty Jane. Alex was connected to many of the organisers across Canada. He was a long time director of the Greater Toronto Chess League and a key figure for many years in the Ontario Chess Association and the Chess Federation of Canada.

[Sam Sharpe]

Thanks for letting us know, Hans. Alex was definitely one of a kind!

[Erik Malmsten]

Alex organized the 1964 Canadian Open way out in the farmland of Scarborough in 1964 won by Benko and before Toronto hosted a Canadian Open). He and Howard Ridout would also visit prisons to play with the inmates. A regilar when the Scarbirough club was on Macey.