'Meaningful role’: Dr. John Moffat remembered for his many contributions to Cambridge
New fund will support Cambridge Symphony Orchestra for years to come and serve to strengthen his legacy as a community builder
As a general surgeon in Galt, Dr. John Moffat dedicated nearly 40 years to enhancing the physical wellbeing of others.
The desire to help those around him extended far beyond the walls of the operating room, however, as evidenced by his life spent in community service.
Whether it was helping establish the annual Can-Amera Games, the Galt Rotary Club, the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation (CNDCF), or his involvement in countless other organizations, his contributions were as towering as his physical stature.
Dr. Moffat died on December 31, 2025. He was 95.
"Amazing community builder,” said Jane Neath, who served as Executive Director of CNDCF from 2000-2013 while Dr. Moffat served as Chair.
“Quiet leadership that you want to follow,” said Tom LeBrun, one of the original board members along with Dr. Moffat, who helped establish CNDCF in 1998.
Added longtime friend Dr. Michael Lawrie: “John was a leader in the community in so many capacities — the highest of which was being an amazing surgeon for 40 years. People that he saved and the quality of life that was improved because of his skills, I think, was the cherry on the top of his offerings and service to community.”
He did it all while devoting himself to his beloved wife of 67 years, Dolores, and their six children.
“I tend to like beautiful things,” Dr. Moffat said in a conversation before his passing in December 2025. “Gardens and music, and I had a beautiful wife.”
JOHN H. MOFFAT FUND
Dr. Moffat made plans to ensure his contributions to Cambridge continue long after his passing. Through Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), he established the John H. Moffat Fund in 2025. With a Designated Fund through WRCF, Fundholders can choose the charities they wish to support upfront, and annual grants are made to them on a perpetual basis. In Dr. Moffat’s case, he chose to support the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra (CSO), establishing the fund through a donation of securities.
CSO is a community orchestra with a small budget. It typically attracts audiences of 200-400 to its year-round performances at venues such as Tapestry Hall, the Hamilton Family Theatre, and various other churches and halls in the area.
This ongoing gift will be a valuable one for CSO, which, like many orchestras, has been faced with financial and other challenges over the years.
Dr. Lawrie, who serves as CSO’s Board Chair, said they “now have great confidence in our future” and “even more” confidence thanks to Dr. Moffat’s contribution.
“It’s vital to us growing and to us being sustainable. Having it like an annuity so that we would be guaranteed a certain amount of cash flow each year is just a great, great relief,” he said of the ongoing gift.
Through WRCF, Dr. Moffat and his extended family previously established the Moffat Family Endowment Fund. That Donor Advised Fund has supported a variety of initiatives and beautification projects throughout Cambridge over the past 20 years.
In choosing who he would like to support through the new John H. Moffat Fund, Dr. Moffat said he was attracted to the familiarity and comfort of the local orchestra.
“I trust Mike Lawrie with my life, so I thought I’d certainly trust him with my money,” he said.
Working with WRCF presented similar comfort.
“I like passing it through WRCF because they invest well, in my opinion,” Dr. Moffat said. “It’s nice to see that it’s augmenting a bit while it hibernates.”
Asked what he hopes his gift to the orchestra might help achieve, the doctor said he’d like to see more children have opportunities in music.
“I would just hope they survive forever and provide music education for the kids because there must be kids who are gifted that we’re missing,” Dr. Moffat said. “I would just hope in the long run that there would be more interest in music.”
FOREVER ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY
Dr. Moffat’s ongoing gift through the John H. Moffat Fund falls in line with his lifelong dedication as a builder in the community.
When he was awarded Cambridge’s Citizen of the Year Award in 1973 by the Civic Service Club, it was not by accident. Dr. Moffat served on the Wilfrid Laurier University Board of Directors from 1977-1983, including as Chairman in 1982-83.
In 2005, he was inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame in the builder category for his efforts with the Can-Amera Games. Started in 1972, the friendly youth sports competition between Cambridge and Saginaw, Mich., bolstered sports and area facilities through to its final year in 2006.
Dr. Moffat was a founding member of the Galt Rotary Club in 1964 and was also involved in the PROBUS Club of Cambridge.
If there was a way to make a positive mark on his community, he’d be there.
“All of these things were kind of fun to do,” Dr. Moffat said. “Each one was enjoyable at the time.”
SETTING A FOUNDATION
Dr. Moffat and his family were well-known around town. Combined with a knack for socializing and a passion for bettering the community, the traits served him well in his leadership role with CNDCF.
“Not only did he know an awful lot of people from his involvement in the Cambridge community, but he also had this way about him that people did not like to say no to,” said Neath, a longtime Hespeler resident who shared a similar encyclopedic knowledge of Cambridge and its people. “People trusted John. So, when he reached out and was introducing the foundation, we knew that he had this ability to open doors... he was just one of those fine, fine people.”
LeBrun, one of the original CNDCF board members, recalled working with Dr. Moffat to create the popular Food for Thought fundraiser dinner and auction. Together, they brought in a highlight reel of keynote speakers over the years, including Rex Murphy, Peter Mansbridge, Ron McLean, and Pamela Wallin.
“John was just a natural for leadership in that role,” LeBrun said. “To me, he was a gentleman of the first order. He had a real presence about him. Great sense of humour. Quiet leadership. Very well-read, very involved, and a great circle of friends.”
“If there were things in the community that needed a presence and leadership role, where you wanted to get people involved, Dr. John was the person you wanted to have involved the most,” LeBrun added. “He would be a good yardstick measure in anything that the community was going to do. If he believed in something, you bet that it was something that should be done.”
LEGACY LIVES ON
The John H. Moffat Fund is just another piece of Dr. Moffat’s legacy, which holds strongly in Cambridge.
“He played such a meaningful role that his presence doesn’t disappear with his absence,” LeBrun said, referring to his friend and former colleague’s legacy.
For Dr. Moffat, giving back was always a natural reflex more than anything else.
“I think it seemed normal to me. My father (Jack) was very active in the community. He was in everything. He was deep in hockey, he was into Kiwanis, he was an alderman and so forth. It just seemed normal to me,” he said.
Prior to his passing, Dr. Moffat offered a call to action, saying anyone looking for ways to give back should consider WRCF.
“I like WRCF. I like the principle of it. I like the fact that it’s community-oriented, strongly community-oriented,” he said. “I have great confidence in the organization and its potential. It’s very easy for me to pass money through it into the community. It’s easy for the foundation to be in your comfort range.”
As for what he hoped his legacy might be?
“It would be kind of nice to be recognized... people say, maybe 10 years from now, ‘John, what would he have done in this situation? What would his attitude have been?’ That kind of thing,” he said.
WRCF offers a range of fund types to choose from, depending on philanthropic interests and desires for specific levels of involvement in annual granting decisions. Learn more at wrcf.ca/types-of-funds.
Funds can be established in your name, or in the name of your family, your organization or anyone you wish to honour. If you would like to learn more about setting up a fund, contact Dan Robert at dan@wrcf.ca or 519-725-1806 x 205.
For more information about WRCF, visit wrcf.ca.