John Ryerson (Jack) Maybee held many distinctive posts in several hot spots during his career with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
During the 1960s and 70s, he was sent to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary - a high-level position within the department. After his last posting as high commissioner to India, he retired and pursued his dream to be a journalist.
Mr. Maybee was born in Moose Jaw, one of six children of Arthur and Isabel Maybee. Arthur was a manager for the Bank of Commerce. The bank moved the family to several parts of the country and upon retirement, the Maybees settled in Toronto.
Jack completed his BA and MA in English at Trinity College at the University of Toronto. He then went to Princeton University to complete his PhD in English just as war broke out. He returned to Canada and joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve as a lieutenant in 1943 and was immediately assigned to a convoy escort group in the North Atlantic.
Toward the end of war, while on leave in London and awaiting transport home, Mr. Maybee visited Canada House, where a friend of his from university was working. The friend encouraged him to try out for External Affairs.
The idea lingered in Mr. Maybee's mind, but in the meantime he was eager to get back to Toronto and marry Nevitt Black - a force of nature who had captured his heart. Nevitt was the daughter of Canadian anthropaleontologist Davidson Black, the discoverer of Peking Man. She was born and raised in China and spoke fluent Mandarin, but upon Dr. Black's death, the family moved to Toronto.
The couple were married on Aug. 4, 1945, and moved to Ottawa, where Mr. Maybee began work in the Historical Division at Naval Headquarters. He wrote the External Affairs exams and was accepted.
His first posting to China was facilitated by his wife's ability to speak Chinese, but the experience happened to be more exciting than he'd bargained for, as the Canadians found themselves in the midst of civil war.
As city after city fell to the Red Army, it was only a matter of time before forces overcame the demoralized Nationalist troops and on April 21, 1949, the Communist Army crossed the Yangtze River and entered Nanking. It became imperative that the families of embassy staff be evacuated immediately. The men would stay behind. Pregnant with their second child, Nevitt insisted on remaining with her husband, but Chester Ronning, then first secretary of the Canadian mission, explained the situation succinctly. "Nevitt, if you women are here and things got tough, they'd send a plane from Hong Kong to get you out. We men would stay and get shot! Go home!" She left with their two-year-old son. Nanking was cut off from rail and telephone communication with Shanghai, but word was received by radio that all members of the staff of the Canadian embassy were well. But it would be an anxious 11 months before Mr. Maybee would see his family again, and by that time his new daughter was eight months old.
In 1964, he became ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Lebanon and, once again, found himself in the midst of turmoil. The family was in Beirut during the Six Day War and as the senior official for Foreign Affairs, it was Mr. Maybee's responsibility to evacuate 250 Canadians from the war zone. The problem was that the only planes available belonged to the United States. Mr. Maybee felt that the Arabs were not predisposed toward the Americans and the planes could become targets, so he simply chartered an airplane on his own and rounded up the Canadians.
In 1974, Mr. Maybee was appointed high commissioner for India and Nepal, just when relations between Canada and India began to sour over India's explosion of a nuclear bomb. It was his last posting before his retirement in 1978.
He then fulfilled a life-long dream by studying journalism at Carleton University. After a brief internship at the Ottawa Citizen, he became editor of the Anglican Diocesan newspaper, Crosstalk.
John Maybee
John Ryerson Maybee was born in 1918 in Moose Jaw. He died on May 20, 2009, in Ottawa. He was 91. He leaves his wife Nevitt and his children John, Maylanne, Brenda, Chris and Alan and numerous grandchildren.
