In loving memory of David — a gentle, creative, warmhearted soul, a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend. This loss has been heartbreaking for myself, his family and friends. While David has been suffering from a multitude of health problems for many years, none of us were prepared for him to leave us quite so soon, and his sudden decline and passing has left shock and heartbreak.

In his younger days, David was a very talented Art Director and Production Designer, working in Theatre, Film and Television, overseeing the visual elements of many movies and TV series' such as The Twilight Zone, The Ray Bradbury Series, and Chasing Rainbows. He was nominated for and won Ace Awards and a Gemini for The Margaret Sanger story. After he retired from film and television, he taught English at Frontier College for many years, which he loved to do as much as the students loved having him as their teacher. Over the years David enjoyed a variety of pastimes, such as reading, cycling, canoeing, camping, furniture repair, and hiking. He loved music all of his life, and played the banjo, the guitar and the harmonica. He loved to travel and when he was healthy we spent time in Costa Rica, the American southwest, Canada's East Coast, the Caribbean, and exploring Georgian Bay. Later on, after David lost the ability to walk, he still found great joy in life, in crossword puzzles and podcasts, music and television (tennis and the Blue Jays!) and car rides to the countryside and to the beach. He adored his family, Eric and Ingrid, and Cora and Frank, and his beautiful grandchildren, Finlay and Astrid. David had a true appreciation for life and found beauty in everything - in forests and lakes, in cityscapes, in the sky, in the snowfalls, in the birds chirping through the window. 

In spite of all the difficulties that David endured - the difficulty finding a doctor for a complicated knee replacement, the resultant falls while trying to get around on crutches, all the surgeries and hospital stays right through the heart of Covid, and through the diagnosis of white matter disease which ended up affecting his speaking and balance - David never complained. He was always stoic, patient, accepting, and kind to everyone he encountered. I can honestly say I never once saw him angry, bear a grudge, or speak unkindly about a soul. He was caring, artistic and tranquil, and an honour to know.

I am creating this fundraiser to raise funds for the cost of David's funeral and cremation. I stopped working almost five years ago in order to be the fulltime caregiver of David and keep him in our home, where he wanted to be, and where I knew he would have the best care and the best life. For five years he has stayed in a hospital bed in the livingroom, where he enjoyed all the comforts of home, plus all the help of many kind and caring PSW's. We've been living on two pensions, which has now suddenly become one. I will look for work again, but the funeral expenses were a surprise and in all honesty, not really do-able for me on my own at the moment, so my friends Sue and Cindy have kindly helped me set up a Gofundme account. I know times are tough for everyone these days, but if you'd like to chip in, anything small would help, and it would be very much appreciated. Thank you. 

With love and gratitude,

❤️ Valerie