Tony Amaral retired from the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education after 42 years and four months of service and no one was happy to see him go.
“Everyone has a Tony story,” says Alex Vickers, facility manager at the Athletic Centre. Vickers was an undergraduate student at KPE when he first met Amaral, an athletic facility assistant, who would unlock the building every morning to let the students in.
“Tony was always welcoming and smiling and when I returned to the Faculty ten years later, he recognized me and made me feel like he knew me,” says Vickers. “That’s what we all want, to be recognized and welcomed.”
Dean Jacobs (on the left) and Tony (on the right) pose for the camera
Amaral’s gift to make people feel welcome prompted Professor Ira Jacobs, dean of KPE, to describe him as “the most talented director of first impressions” he’s ever met.
“I’ve always been impressed by how sensitive you are to people less advantaged than us,” he told Amaral at his retirement party. “I’ve seen you interacting with different people and learned a lot from you.”
Jacobs also thanked Amaral on filling in the gaps his first week on the job, bringing him up to speed on the organization’s culture and students.
Amaral started working in the athletics department in Hart House in the mid 70s, eventually transferring to the Warren Stevens building, the Athletic Centre, when it was completed in 1980.
“I enjoyed it, but I can’t say I thought it would be something I would be doing for 42 years,” says Amaral of his work. “But I began to meet a lot of interesting people, as one would. I mean, this is a university!”
Among others, he befriended Professor Bruce Kidd, whose book The Death of Hockey he came across when he was in high-school.
“It had a very positive effect on me,” says Amaral and he would often bring it up in conversations with Kidd. Kidd remembered and brought Amaral one of two remaining copies of the book as a retirement gift.
Professor Bruce Kidd, former dean of KPE (on the left) and Tony pose with the book that brought them together
Calling him a tremendous community builder, Kidd said it was always reassuring to have Amaral’s allyship during his time as dean of KPE, especially on the Faculty’s equity agenda.
“You were an invaluable pair of eyes and ears, providing constructive feedback on how we were doing things,” said Kidd. “You saw things we didn’t and said things no one else would.”
This honesty earned Amaral respect from students and staff alike.
Tony and Sophie Harding share a laugh
“Tony is one of my favorite people here in KPE,” says Sophie Harding, from KPE’s Registrar’s Office. “He is a kind, generous, helpful and sincere person and I will miss him greatly.
“I cannot remember a day when Tony was working without a smile or didn’t stop to ask how you were doing. A truly genuine personality and compassionate spirit. One of a kind,” she says.
Amaral’s father immigrated to Canada from Portugal in 1954, a year after Tony was born. The rest of the family followed him in 1965 and settled in Toronto at Queen and Claremont, not too far from U of T.
“A lot of books have been written and great movies made about immigration,” says Amaral. “It’s not easy.”
In 1975, Amaral was a second year student at U of T when Portugal was rocked by a coup d’état, marking a big change in the country, but also in Amaral, who felt torn between his desire to return to his country of birth and stay by his mother’s side. His allegiance to his mother was stronger and he decided to stay in Toronto, but his focus was broken. He abandoned his studies, but didn’t leave the university, sticking with his job in the athletics department for the next 42 years. At the beginning, he worked mainly in the evening and on weekends, doing repairs, painting the track, putting things together and tearing them apart, but something else was happening.
“I was starting to see the university in a more mature way,” says Amaral. “I was meeting all these wonderful people and learning independently,” says Amaral. “I was doing a lot of reading, which I always enjoyed, and just enjoying the cultural hub that is the university. I began to see it as a wonderful place to be.”
Amaral met his wife Isaura at the Athletic Centre’s Field House and they went on to have two children, Andre and Emma, both graduates of U of T. To his pleasure, the University was also experiencing positive growth, becoming more equitable and open.
Tony with his daughter Emma (on the left) and wife Isaura (on the right)
Occasionally, opportunities for new jobs would arise, like when the Sky Dome was being built in the middle 80s.
“But, I found it hard to leave,” says Amaral. “I am very loyal to the things that I believe in. I respect academia so much and being surrounded by researchers, teachers and students was a privilege and very enriching.
“Our Faculty has grown so much over the years and the young faculty that Bruce Kidd and Ira Jacobs brought in are just wonderful,” he says. “They’re so down to earth.”
Amaral’s final day at work was last Friday, but he’s made it clear he doesn’t plan to retire from the University just yet. He will continue to enjoy public lectures, visit art exhibits and, of course, exercise at the Athletic Centre.
“People say ‘Gee, some days I just don’t feel like going to work,’ but that never happened to me,” says Amaral, who was still welcoming patrons to the Athletic Centre his last week at work.
“There are people who’ve been coming here for years, we’re like family. When that happens, you don’t want to let each other down,” he says. “I owe it to them to be on time, because they’ve made my days better. It’s quid pro quo.”