We just heard about Graeme’s passing today.  We played in Mew Horizons  band with him.  Such an awesome guy and a wonderful musician.  Many condolences.  Ian and  Kathy 

I worked with Graeme at Schreiber in Japan. He taught me so much about technical writing and translating. Though I was not the best student, the things he taught me served me well and 24 years later, I continue to work with Schreiber's primary client from home in the U.S. I was very sad to hear of his sudden passing, and my sincere condolences go out to his family.

My wife Fleur and I have associated closely with the Spafford family since 1957 when I moved to Canada  from Australia. I worked as an engineer with Gordon Spafford for HG Acres in the design of the Ash River hydroelectric project on Vancouver Island. It is  still operating to our original design, as I understand. When Fleur and I were married in 1959 our wedding reception was held in the home of the Spafford family--Gordon and Darby- in Vancouver. We have retained our contact ever since and today remain in contact with Darby and Kazuko and Joan. We are sad at Graeme Spafford's relatively short life, but celebrate his many achievements. With love from Fleur and me [Graeme] to all the relatives of the Spafford family. Graeme and Fleur Kelleher. 👍😆

My friend Elinor and I were recalling a story Graeme's mother Darby would laughingly recount, and the family asked that we share it here: Graeme was taking a bus somewhere, and there was a group of women on the bus speaking Japanese. One of them wondered if they should talk in front of him, and the others reassured her he surely wouldn't understand them. When Graeme got off at his stop somewhat later, he said in his excellent Japanese. “Thank you for your entertaining stories.” Remembering it again, this seems such a Graeme kind of story. How he unassumingly and gently revelled in the amusement life offered, while going about his life. He will live on in our hearts – I hope we can be open to enjoying the ridiculous and amusing moments in life in his memory. With love to Kazuko and the family.

Dear Kazuko, My heart-felt condolences to you and your family; I felt so sad when I heard about Graeme's passing. Many years before I noticed Graeme while attending linguistics classes at the U of M, although we never had a conversation then. He stood out because he asked very specific, intelligent questions during the class. I thought to myself, This kid is really smart".  Later, when I found out that Kazuko and he knew each other, I confessed to him my earlier impression; of course, he just smiled in a sort of shy way. Kazuko had asked me to be her bridesmaid at their wedding-- and I gladly accepted. From that time onwards, we met many times. I missed them during their ten year stay in Japan. Afterwards, back in Winnipeg, I enjoyed dinners and noodle soups at their new home, and I still remember the slice of delicious apple pie that Graeme had baked (!).  I will always be grateful for the time spent at the cottage at Lake of the Woods, with Craig there as well, and the boat ride on the lake, the only real experience for me of roughing it a bit in the great Canadian Wilderness.   And of course I remember the invite to a concert where Graeme performed.  I hope he enjoyed the digital piano he was kind enough to take over before I moved to Ottawa.   I will alwalys remember Graeme.....

Dear Kazuko, My deepest condolences during this time of sorrow. I didn't know Graeme very well but appreciated his musicianship when playing at WEMS functions together. During this trying time, I hope that you find strength in those that surround you. Wishing you strength and comfort in this trying time.

Dear Kazuko, My condolences to you and your family. I didn’t know Graeme long but appreciated his quiet way. Rain or snow or sun I always saw him walking to band practice every Saturday morning with that little smile and his Euphonium on his back. Thinking of you and your loss. New Horizons Band mate Valdine Scott

I have worked with Spafford-san for over 20 years on English manuals, he in Canada, I in Tokyo. He was such a great English manual writer and he has been my English teacher for life. My co-workers and clients were big fans of Spafford's manuals. When he visited our office in Tokyo several years ago, I told him,  "Your English is as good as Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan's for me." I remember he smiled shyly and said, "Thank you. I'm flattered." I will never forget that warm smile. It was a really sudden loss and I still haven't sorted out my mind. My heart aches when I think of his beloved wife, Kazuko san. Now, everytime I read the English texts he wrote, I thank God for the fortuitous chance I had to meet a truly wonderful writer. After reading the posts here, I learned that he was also a fabulous musician. I regret that I could not see him on stage.

This is what I read at Graeme's beautiful memorial today: "Hello Kazuko, Mom, family and  friends:  My earliest memory of Graeme is when he was around 11yrs old. Cathy would make a tuna-sweet pickle sandwich for Graeme for lunch and he'd lie across the ottoman in their living room and read his book as he ate his sandwich. At that time, I thought, wow, are you allowed to do that? Much later, when I was pregnant with Masami, Graeme as uncle-to-be, warned me that he didn't know what to do with babies, but reassured me that as soon as they could talk and read, things would improve. And for today, Masami wrote a memory she has of him: it reads. “Graeme had a way of making a lasting impact in a few words. Once, at Lake of the Woods, Masami and Kazumi were in the midst of a vicious sibling power struggle. Other adults on hand were trying to reason with and distract them, but the kids kept escalating. Before Masami could actually hit her much smaller, younger sibling, Graeme met her eyes and said with perfect calm, "Violence is the last resort of the incompetent." This was decades ago, but it's still one of Masami's most vivid memories of her uncle. It was probably the first time in her childhood that she considered violence might not just be something deserving of guilt, but something deserving of scorn. He made her think critically, instead of lashing out, and for her, it was a life-changing moment. There's nothing more important in life than the people who make you think, who make you learn, who deserve your trust because they share the things they care about in a way that makes you come to care about them, too. That's who Graeme was to Masami; an uncle who helped teach her to sail, who shared books and stories that introduced her to new ideas, someone she admired and respected enough that even when she was an unruly kid about to fly into a fury, one simple sentence from him was enough to make her put down her fists and use her brain. She will always be grateful, and she will always remember that with love.” So that’s what Masami wrote and here are a few memories from me: Graeme will be remembered and missed for his warm, quiet acceptance, his deep devotion and loyalty to Kazuko, his family and friends. We will miss hearing him say "eto",  the Japanese word for  "um" at the end of his English phrases. We'll remember him when D and D is being played. I'll miss playing music with him. Mostly we will just miss Graeme, being here, so unobtrusively and yet so significantly. He is alive in our hearts. We love you Graeme. "

Graeme and I have been friends since high school. I'm grateful for all our time shared and thankful for our last in-person get together in April, when he took me to The Leaf at Assiniboine Park. It was nice to just spend time together in a beautiful setting and I will always think of Graeme whenever I visit there. Graeme, I will see you again at Happy Hour. Please make mine a G & T. P.S. I owe you lunch.

I met Graeme on his first day on this planet when I was 9½ years old. I remember him as a very engaged and curious child. There is a family myth, that may in fact be true, that his first words were “Have you read any good books lately?” This actually says a lot about who he was even as a child; gifted with language and curious about how others see the world.  As his “big sister” I spent a lot of time with him in his early years. We shared a love of imagination and often created our own adventures at play in imagined worlds. At the lake this often involved boating, going to islands and making up stories about what we were doing. Graeme was very involved with our place at Lake of the Woods and worked closely with dad on various projects including boat building. We all share a love of small boats. Part of being at the lake was making music together every evening and from an early age, Graeme played recorder in these sessions.    He was very verbal as a child and learned to speak and read early. In fact, I remember a mention on one of his early report cards that the teacher would appreciate it if he talked less. He was endlessly patient with me as his caregiver. Every school day I made him lunch and he always asked for grilled cheese sandwiches which I frequently managed to burn, nonetheless he continued to ask for them.   Graeme’s intelligence exceeded the capacity of what school could offer and he somehow managed to pass most subjects while rarely attending classes. However, he read widely which gave him a unique and broad perspective on the world. Graeme’s views were always interesting and well informed. Graeme had a lively sense of humour and a love of the absurd which was a delight. He was also loving and kind and cared deeply about the world.   In recent years Graeme was a major support for mom. He was steadfast in his care, visiting her regularly and taking care of her affairs. During the pandemic Graeme and I were partners in providing care and he was always there for mom and me. Even in difficult times he never gave up and we all counted on his loving support. He facilitated 3 weekly Skype calls with mom and her family which enabled us all to stay connected. For this we are immensely grateful. Graeme’s quiet, consistent love in action blessed us all. Graeme, words can’t express fully the beauty of your presence. You are so very loved.  ❤

I met Graeme in the Winnipeg New Horizons Band where I was trying to learn music.  He sat right beside me as we both played baritone, it did not take long for us to become friends and so we started to pracitce our music together.  Graeme was a much better musician than me, he was always very patient and helpful and I learned a lot from him.  We had many happy times playing music at New Horizons, in my basement (sometimes his brother Jim would join us when he was in town, and we also played together at his and Kazuko's house where I would usually get coffee and sometimes a nice Japanese lunch.   Graeme was a dear friend to me and really helped me in my musical adventure. I will miss him. My sincire condolences to Kazuko and the family. Andy Maurakis

I have known Graeme since he was about 10 years old.  He was always so sharp, such a keen intellect and ready with witty comments.  I remember how he didn't want to leave his boy/man cave at home in high school and attend classes.  However, in spite of rarely making an appearance, he seemingly sailed through everything and the next thing I knew he was doing a Master's degree in linguistics.   A bit of an enigma to me, he was seemingly able to take everything he was taught or introduced to and take it to the next level (music, sailing, Japanese and etc.) and make it look easy, and never speak about his many achievements.  More recently though, what really impressed me about Graeme was that with real humility and competence, he quietly glued the care of his mother and her need for connection to her family together.  Very self-effacing, he stood out as a true hero as he took on getting to her on the bike in the winter and being steadfast in his support of her and his siblings.  He will be sorely missed.  My heartfelt and deepest condolences to Kazuko and Jim, Cathy Joan and all his fellow musicians and friends.  

I was fortunate in knowing Graeme as a fellow musician and a member of the Winnipeg Early Music Society (WEMS). He was a fundamental contributor to the Amindra Consort where his virtuosity on the bass recorder and other instruments was crucial to our success. He was always a supportive team player and his quiet sense of humour made him a joy to be around. With WEMS he worked tirelessly for many years on the executive as Treasurer necessitating that he be at events earlier than anyone else so he could collect memberships and keep the books in order. And his dedication was always accompanied with a smile. I also liked Graeme’s “green” approach to transportation by avoiding a car. He used buses, walked, and bicycled. His loading his bike up with musical instruments to attend practices and gigs was inspiring. I will miss Graeme immensely. My condolences to Kazuko and his family.

Graeme was a true gentleman. He was somewhat shy and cautious with the words he spoke. Under all this was a phenomenal intellect. I would tease Kazuko and my wife that Graeme knew more Japanese than they did, even though the wives were both educated in Japan. It took me a while to realize this, that Graeme loved sailing his sailboat especially alone. No wind, no problem, just pull out the oars and away we go. We will miss Graeme, for his friendship. And for those early morning percolated cups of coffee at the lake.

We are so very sorry for your loss Kazuko.  Our condolences to all of his family and friends.  I met Graeme in our New Horizons Band some years ago.  He was an experienced musician and I think he was always in a more advanced group than I.  Thank you for sharing his many attributes here.  I’m sorry that we are unable to attend the Celebration of Graeme’s life on this Sunday due to a prior commitment.  Sending hugs to you - Lynn McLean and John Prentice.