William and Hiroko Keith’s legacy of literature, music and the natural world

Apr 9, 2026

In 1958, after completing his undergraduate degree at Cambridge University, William Keith won a Canada Council fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Canada. He left England later that year for the University of Toronto, where he earned both his master’s degree and PhD in English.

Following his studies, William accepted a junior faculty position in the English department at McMaster University. There, he met Hiroko Sato, a graduate student working on her master’s in English. The two developed a close friendship. Hiroko was studying at McMaster on a World University Service scholarship she had won while working as an elementary school teacher in Nishinomiya, Japan. Unfortunately, two years into her studies, Hiroko had to return to Japan to care for her ill mother. She and William became pen pals and remained in contact after her departure.

Around the world and a new life in Canada

In 1965, William embarked on a round-the-world tour. He visited Hiroko in Japan and their relationship grew closer. Although William continued his travels, they stayed in frequent contact through letters and became engaged through their correspondence. William returned to Japan in December of that year to marry Hiroko.

Returning to Canada together, William took a job as an English professor at U of T and Hiroko became an elementary school teacher in the Toronto Catholic District School Board. When they both retired in 1995, they happily spent their time travelling and pursuing their other joint passion: birdwatching. They often built their travel plans around their shared hobby: taking birdwatching trips to all seven continents.

Both during William’s time teaching at U of T and after retirement, the Keiths were fixtures at events across the university. They enjoyed attending many of the operas put on by the students at the Faculty of Music and rarely missed an event at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, through the Friends of Fisher community.

A cost-effective way to make a sizable gift

Life insurance can be a cost-effective and tax-effective way to make a sizable gift. William and Hiroko paid the annual premiums on their policy and received a tax receipt in the amount of the premium paid. Structured as a joint last-to-die policy, following Hiroko’s death, the life insurance was paid out to the university. Combined with their bequest to the Fisher Library, the policy was used to create the William and Hiroko Keith Fund – dedicated to acquiring, maintaining and improving the Fisher collections of Canadian literature, English literature and books on ornithology.

Special funds for collection development, like the William and Hiroko Keith Fund, allow us to expand the reach of special collections with a focus on our subject strengths, while also identifying opportunities to support the growth of new areas of collecting.

“Special funds for collection development, like the William and Hiroko Keith Fund, allow us to expand the reach of special collections with a focus on our subject strengths, while also identifying opportunities to support the growth of new areas of collecting,” said David Fernández, head of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Fisher. “One of our areas of collecting – English literature and history – is now supported by the Keiths’ fund, and we just received the first order acquired through it. It is a rare work on kites, The Aeropleustic Art, or Navigation in the Air, by the use of Kites (1837), which consists of a manual and cultural history of kites, containing illustrations and poems about kites and other flying devices.”

Special funds for collection development, like the William and Hiroko Keith Fund, allow us to expand the reach of special collections with a focus on our subject strengths, while also identifying opportunities to support the growth of new areas of collecting.

“The university is honoured that William and Hiroko Keith chose to create such a special and meaningful legacy,” said Michelle Osborne, executive director, Gift Planning. “Their gift of life insurance generated support far exceeding the annual premium payments, amplifying the impact of their support beyond their bequest alone.”

To learn more about how to make gifts of life insurance or a bequest, please reach out to Michelle Osborne directly at michelle.osborne@utoronto.ca or click the button below.

Learn how to make a bequest

Explore related campaign priorities: Spark creativity + culture