Anne McCormick passed away peacefully on Monday, September 14, 2026, at the age of 92. Born on January 2, 1934, in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA, to Fred McCormick and Margaret Anne Ball, Anne lived a full and remarkable life.
Anne graduated cum laude from the University of West Virginia. In her early adult years, she enjoyed horseback riding. In 1976, she followed her husband Mark Sloman to Montreal, beginning a new chapter of her life in Canada, where she embraced her new winter home by taking up cross-country skiing until an injury brought her days on the trails to an end.
Anne went on to a distinguished career at McGill University, serving in the Dean’s Office, Faculty of Medicine, as Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff to the Dean from 1976 until her retirement in 1996. She was a pillar of the McGill community and a guiding light behind many of the university’s innovative projects and initiatives. She was also a member of the University Women’s Club.
Gourmet cooking and entertaining were among Anne’s greatest passions — she loved trying and creating new recipes, always with a glass of white wine in hand while she cooked and hosted. She was equally passionate about classical music and opera. An avid birdwatcher, Anne contributed to the Audubon bird count for many years, and — despite her feathered friends — was also a devoted cat lover.
Anne was predeceased by her parents, Fred McCormick and Margaret Anne Ball; her brothers, Fred Jr. and John; her first husband, Mark Sloman; and her second husband, Dr. Louis Fortin.
She is survived by her husband, David Wilson, and his children, Vicky (Ben) and Patrick (Livia); the children of her second husband, Louis: Marquis (the late Richard), Louis Jr. (Gabrielle), the late Sylvie (Guy), Brigitte (Don), Bernard (Suzanne), and Nathalie; her nephew, John McCormick (Belinda) and his family; many step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren; and by numerous former colleagues and many dear friends.
At the Faculty of Medicine, Anne was a mentor to many women, teaching, encouraging, and pushing them to become more than they thought they could be. She had a way of daring people into things — an arched eyebrow, a challenge to their curiosity — and if they took the bait, she’d send them off with “Go get ’em, tiger.” One young colleague, whom Anne once called “a diamond in the rough,” would say she spent years trying to make good on that description — and that what began as mentorship grew into one of the closest friendships of her life. To her, Anne wasn’t just a mentor. She was family.
As a tribute to Anne’s dedication, exceptional attitude that was a joy for all who knew and worked with her, as well as to her outstanding contributions to the Faculty over so many years, the Anne McCormick Award is given annually to a management staff member in recognition of excellence in job performance as part of the VP-Dean’s Ovation Awards.
Arrangements are entrusted to Cass Funeral Home, Coopérative funéraire de l’Estrie, 3006 College St., Sherbrooke, QC, J1M 1T9, (819) 564-1750, www.casshomes.ca. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, October 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the funeral home.