The portrait of Peter on your Program, that you see here on the left,
has caught the sparkle in his eyes and his smile, which on occasion could
break into hearty laughter. The watch on his wrist we can take as symbolic of
his Swiss origin and his precisely organized work schedules. And he wears
the Neuro tie with the logo we devised for our Third Foundation in 1978 when
we celebrated the opening of the Penfield Pavilion. At that time, quite
unexpectedly, I received the fine Dover facsimile edition of Johann Sebastian Bach's
Two- and Three-part Inventions for the pianoforte.
It was inscribed "From one M member to another, to commemorate an unforgettable occasion" and was signed
"Peter, September the 19th 1978". I was deeply touched by this gift and flattered by Peter's high expectations of my strictly
amateur talents as a Bach performer. Today I cherish even more this small book as a symbol of our long and wonderful
friendship. Peter and Luba have one daughter, Irene a McGill graduate, married to Eric Shoubridge, Director, Neurogenetics
Laboratory at the Neuro, and a son Daniel, an engineering graduate, married to Donna, a teacher.
As Rainer Maria Rilke wrote in one of his
poems
in Das Stundenbuch [Book of Hours]:
Ich höre jeden in mir schreiten
und breite meine Einsamkeiten
von Anbeginn zu Anbeginn.
Victor Epp has kindly translated these lines:
I hear everyone stride within me
and I spread out my loneliness
from beginning to beginning.
© William Feindel, 2004
(Adapted from remarks at a memorial service on 3 December 2003 in
Birks Chapel, McGill University; with illustrations added from the Neuroarchives. The family of Peter Gloor has kindly suggested that memorial donations may
be directed to the Neuro-Library Fund, and sent to the Director, Montreal Neurological Institute, 3801 University Street, Montreal H3A 2B4)
9