Michael Anthony “Tony” Whitehead was born in London, England, June 30, 1935 and died in Montreal, Canada, on June 19, 2025.

He was predeceased by his parents Francis “Frank” Henry and Edith Downes (Rotherham) Whitehead. Tony is survived by his son Christopher, Christopher’s mother and Tony's former wife Karen, and by Tony’s former wife Deborah Hayward Eaton. He is also survived by his companion, Susan Button, who cared for him over many years. Friends and colleagues include Peter McNally, Susan Stevenson, Ashok Kakkar, Theo van de Ven, Zack Jacobson, Anelia Wright, and David and Lucinda Burns among others.

Following education in the Burnt Oak district of London, Tony studied Chemistry at Queen Mary College, University of London, BSc’56, PhD’60, DSc’74. After teaching at Queen Mary College, 1958-60, he went to the University of Cincinnati, 1960-62, as Fulbright Fellow. In 1962 he came to McGill University's Department of Chemistry where he spent the remainder of his career, retiring in 1999 as Professor Emeritus.

Among his areas of research interest were theoretical and polymer chemistry, nuclear quadrupole resonance, and molecular modeling of sizing agents and retention aids used in pulp and paper production. Between 1960 and 2002 he published 248 articles. He supervised approximately 35 doctoral dissertations. To celebrate his 75th and 80th birthdays, symposia were held whose proceedings were published. He held visiting professorships at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Wales, Geneva, and Canterbury (New Zealand) as well as the National U. Def. Technology (China).

Tony was involved in a wide range of scientific associations, particularly Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. He was for many years the president of the Montreal chapter of Sigma Xi and in that capacity organized numerous scientific sessions on a wide range of topics. These sessions usually ended with a visit to McGill’s Faculty Club, where the discussions continued over beer. He was the Recipient of the Evan Ferguson Award for Service to the Society and also became Honorary Life President of the McGill-Montreal chapter.

Tony's social and cultural interest focused upon music, opera and ballet. During the 1960s, while Warden of Molson Hall, he fostered establishment of McGill’s Savoy Society. He was a long-time member of Montreal's Church of St. John the Evangelist, Chair of the Montreal School of Theology, and Director of the Canadian Christian and Scientific Association. He gave many lectures on the connection between science and religion. He was a President of the James McGill Society.

A congenial and generous host, he would regularly entertain friends, colleagues, and graduate students with open-face sandwiches, aquavit, and beer. He enjoyed sharing his opinions on current events, which he followed closely. He was an amateur painter and railroad enthusiast. He read widely and eclectically. Michael Anthony Whitehead was a good and loyal friend. His memory will be cherished.  Special thanks are extended to the staff of the CHSLD Vigi Reine-Elizabeth for their care and patience in recent months.

A funeral service will be held at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (3415 Sherbrooke St. W., corner Redpath) on Thursday, June 26, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, contributions in Tony’s memory to the Whitehead Prize in Chemistry would be gratefully appreciated: https://giving.mcgill.ca/ways-give/give-today/give-online or McGill University Advancement, 1555 Peel St, 9th Floor, Montreal QC, H3A 3L8.