August 19, 2026, Toronto, Ontario: The APGO Education Foundation (“APGOEF”), mourns the loss of founding director Dr. Neil D.S. Westoll, P.Geo. who passed away peacefully at the age of 85 on August 12, 2026, after a brief battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Maureen, his daughter, Kathryn, his son, Andrew, his grandchildren, Ivy and Remy, and his daughters-in-law, Andrea and Samantha. Dr. Westoll was widely experienced in mineral exploration and business development internationally, having spent over 50 years with senior and junior Canadian and international mining companies in exploration and business development and as an independent consultant to the mining industry. Since 2001, he has focused on the environmental and consultation aspects of the mining business. This has included work in notable areas such as the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario. In January 2014, he joined as a founding director of APGOEF. The Foundation is focused on educating the public about geoscience, supporting undergraduate students studying geoscience and supporting internationally trained geoscientists to obtain their professional registration in Ontario. In 2025, APGOEF celebrated its 10th anniversary. Its innovative flagship website, GeoscienceINFO.com launched in June 2017, now has 58 virtual field trips with a remarkable 571 stops plus a wide range of information to educate the public about geoscience. During those 10 years, APGOEF has awarded 19 scholarships totaling $95,000 to 3rd year geoscience students that are proceeding to 4th year with a curriculum program enabling them to complete the knowledge requirements for professional registration. In addition, APGOEF has awarded $31,500 in bursaries to support internationally trained geoscientists who are immigrants to Canada to obtain their professional registration with PGO. Dr. Westoll retired from the board of directors in June 2025 after 10 years of service. Continue reading press release >>
