Thank you to Gail Geronimo, Program Lawyer, Osgoode Professional Development, York University for sharing this tribute to our colleague, Paul Wye.
Paul Wye, Manager of IT and Innovation at Osgoode Professional Development (OsgoodePD), sadly passed away on August 4, 2023, following a period in critical condition after he suffered severe anaphylactic shock. He was only 41.
Paul was a talented and exceptional member of the OsgoodePD team and an exemplary human being. Over the years, he was awarded both the Osgoode staff awards – the Wendy Rambo Award for Outstanding Service, and the Louella Sturdy Award for Leadership. But it was his ability to connect with people that made Paul a cherished and well-loved member of the legal education community.
Paul’s genuine curiosity of things and people around him, his clever sense of humour, his incredible generosity with his time and energy, and his pride of his phenomenal team, made him a real joy to work and connect with.
Paul started at OsgoodePD in 2002 as a work study student and began full-time in an AV Support role 2007. As he stepped into his role as Manager of IT and Innovation right at the outset of the pandemic, Paul very quickly helped transition OsgoodePD into a leader in online learning and a successful remote workplace. He put in much time making in-home set-up recommendations to faculty members, and on many occasions drove across the GTA to deliver tech equipment to staff and faculty alike.
OsgoodePD’s success in online learning and technical support was in large part thanks Paul’s leadership, genius, propensity for thinking out-of-the-box in the tech and problem-solving spheres and for going above and beyond at every opportunity to ensure members of the organization were teaching, learning, and working at the highest level.
Paul leaves his spouse, Ruthann, and his sons, Quinn (8), Davin (6) and Ashton (3); his parents, Lockie and Judi; his sister Lindsay and her spouse and children; his parents-in-law; and a large extended family.
He will also be dearly missed by his OsgoodePD family, many of whom have become close personal friends, and many other friends and colleagues.
Paul’s sister Lindsay has established a Go-Fund-Me for support of Paul’s boys, and I have shared the link below. Please feel free to share the link as you wish. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-pauls-family