The Rev. Felix Danford Lion

The Rev. Felix Danford Lion, 94, died peacefully on November 29, 2008, in Victoria, BC. Born in Massachusetts, he married Eva Hoel in 1943. A graduate of University of Chicago and Meadville Theological Seminary, he received an honorary Doctorate degree from Starr King School for the Ministry. He served congregations in MA, NY, CA and BC and was named minister emeritus by the Palo Alto and Victoria congregations. A lifelong human rights activist, he was a member of the NAACP, who helped to register blacks to vote in 1964. He participated in the freedom marches in Selma, AL and Washington, DC. He served as Chair of the Board of World Interfaith Colleges; as President of UUMA, and was a founding member of the Vancouver Island Civil Rights Coalition. He was a member of the Archeology Society of BC and of the IARF. His lifelong passions were gardening and music. At age 93 he climbed to prune the very tops of his trees. Starting in his early teens and continuing until he was 92, he played the trumpet in a variety of jazz bands and orchestras.