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"His greatest accomplishment came
from his uncanny ability to make his students grasp the
sometimes difficult concepts of mathematics...
[which was] his first love."
Dr Glyden Headley
Professor Emeritus Velmer Headley had a
special gift for mathematics and, in particular, calculus.
He was a dedicated mathematics educator for more than 30 years
and published in prestigious journals including the Journal
of Mathematical Analysis & Applications.
Velmer Bentley Headley was born in Mile and a Quarter Village in
Barbados on 7th September, 1934. He was a quiet child who
got along well with his siblings, studied hard and was helpful
to his friends. He was a bright student with a unique
sense of humour. He attended All Saints' Boys Primary
School, Parry Secondary School and the prestigious Harrison
College, where he excelled. He taught briefly at Coleridge
and Parry secondary schools before pursuing university
education. He was awarded the Second Grade Exhibition, the
First Grade Exhibition of the Ministry of Education and the
Armstrong Scholarship, earning a place at The University of the
West Indies (UWI), Mona in Jamaica. While studying for his
bachelor's degree in mathematics, he taught at the secondary
school, Munroe College.
He graduated with honours and proceeded to
Canada where he enrolled at the University of British Columbia.
He focused on differential equations for his master's degree,
completing it in 1967. He went on to obtain his Doctor of
Philosophy (PhD) in Mathematics at the same university one year
later. After finishing his doctorate, he joined the then
fledgling Brock University in Ontario, Canada.
 For
the next 32 years, he lectured and conducted mathematical
research, serving as Chair of the Department of Mathematics, a
member of the University Senate and a two-term president of the
Brock University Faculty Association. His research on
partial differential equations helped to provide new
perspectives on, and improve the understanding of, this
important branch of mathematics, and attracted attention from
mathematicians around the world. One of his papers was
published in the esteemed Proceedings of the American
Mathematical Society and another was presented at the Second
World Congress of Nonlinear Analysts. After his
retirement, Professor Headley was awarded the title of Professor
Emeritus.
Besides being a brilliant mathematician,
Professor Headley was also known for his exceptional singing
ability since his teenage years. He was a regular soloist
with the Niagara Symphony and an occasional recording artist for
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In his later years,
he sang at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Buffalo, New York.
After a long battle with illness, Professor
Emeritus Velmer Headley died on 24th March 2004 at age 70.
At the time of his death, he had begun work on a book on
differential equations.
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