Our Dad, David Patterson passed away at Southlake Village Long-Term Care Facility in Newmarket on the morning of June 11, 2022, following a courageous battle with myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of blood cancer. He was always supported in his final journey, surrounded by his two sons Neill and Glenn and his daughter-in-law Janis during his last months, weeks, and days. He knew that he was loved and that we were fighting for him for as long as he needed us to. He is now at peace.
Southlake Village had been his home since 2014 following a serious stroke. We thank those nurses, PSWs, volunteers, and other staff and residents who kept an eye out for our dad and cared for him all these years. As well, we thank our mom, Carol who was always there for him and visiting every week when possible.
During the past year and a half, as our dad’s health worsened during endless pandemic lockdowns and restrictions on long-term care residents, he was blessed to attract a cohort of “angels” whose acts of kindness, large and small, made his life a little easier. We thank his daughter-in-law Janis Harrison who tirelessly managed his care and advocated on his behalf from a distance in Montreal throughout his battle with cancer. She helped bring about many of the small, precious moments of laughter with our dad these past two years, always trying to put a smile on his face and lift his spirits. We are deeply grateful to our dad’s nurse practitioner Katie Lu who fought so hard for him and was always there in his moments of greatest need. His PSW Dunio Gure from CHATS who wheeled him to his blood transfusions and appointments, always making sure he had warm clothes and lunch, and checking-in on him in the ER and at the nursing home when family couldn’t visit. Harriet Palaypayon, the service coordinator at CHATS for coordinating his transportation to his many appointments. Nursing staff at Southlake Village, particularly Jennifer and Mary-Rose, for their ongoing concern and care. André Petrov and his assistant Melody for visiting our dad in the nursing home and getting him new dentures in record time to help him with his eating recently. And Dr. Len Schwartz who stopped in to check on our dad’s dental hygiene while he was in palliative care in his final days. Lastly, we thank Shannon Fletcher at Taylor Funeral Home for her kindness and ease in making his final arrangements.
Our dad was a tough man with a big heart. He worked hard for his family and was deeply loyal to friends. He will be missed and fondly remembered by his surviving family members: wife Carol, sons Neill and Glenn, his sister Jean, his brother Clarke and sister-in-law Kathleen and their children in Calgary, and Glenn’s partner Janis. He is predeceased by both parents (William Patterson and Molly McVicker), his sister Margaret, and brothers Billy, Joe, and Drew.
When that foghorn blows
I will be coming home
When that foghorn blows
I wanna hear it
I don't have to fear it
(Van Morrison, “Into the Mystic”)
David was born August 18, 1947, in a working-class neighbourhood of West Belfast, Northern Ireland to Mary “Molly” McVicker and William “Billy” Patterson. David was the second youngest in the family with older sisters Jean & Margaret and brothers Billy, Joe, Clarke, and Drew. He grew up fast after his father, along with sixteen other men, died in a workplace accident in the Belfast shipyards in January 1951. Times weren’t always easy, his mother raising the children alone, trying to make ends meet. David enjoyed summers at his granny McVicker’s in Coleraine along the River Bann. His favourite past-time was playing football (“soccer” for North American readers) and his father had played in the Northern Irish League for the Cliftonville reserve team. He sometimes told the story about trying out for the professional league towards the end of high school: he couldn’t afford shoes with cleats for the tryout match, so he took a pair of leather shoes and nailed some studs into the soles. The nails began coming through the soles of his shoes into his feet mid-game: this marked the end of his professional sports ambitions (although he maintained a life-long love of football and rugby which he would later pass on to his two sons).
As a teenager in the early 1960s, along with his mother and most of his siblings, the family emigrated to Toronto, ending up in the Willowdale area. Moving to Canada allowed David to escape the British class system. Using his mechanical background, he moved into the Canadian print industry, completing an apprenticeship before starting his career with Southam. By the mid-1980s, he left shiftwork behind and moved into sales and management with the U.K.-based printer Baker Perkins. In the 1990s and early 2000s, his work would take him all over the world where he oversaw the installation of large printing presses in places like India, Peru, Venezuela, Hong Kong, China, and Malaysia. His eye for quality and his hard work-ethic garnered him the respect of many in the international print industry. With his working-class roots, he eschewed elitism and snobbery and easily made friends all over the world with people from all walks of life, across languages and cultures.
In 1977, David married Carol Lane (originally from Norwich, England) in Toronto. In 1978, they welcomed their first-born son, Neill, into the world, followed by their second son, Glenn in 1982. They raised the family briefly in Scarborough before relocating to Richmond Hill. Their house on Naughton Drive, in a semi-rural area with nearly two acres of land and an above ground pool, marked a huge sense of achievement for this man from the tough streets of Belfast. Fond memories were had there playing soccer in the backyard with his sons, walking their golden retriever Jessie through the fields between Yonge and Bathurst streets, and going on country drives and road-trips to the U.S. with his sons. His son Neill excelled in mathematics and engineering while Glenn developed a passion for music and cultural heritage, both earning graduate degrees after they left home. Before his stroke in 2013, he made many new friends through the aquafit classes held the Elgin West and other local pools, many of whom would visit him in the nursing home from time-to-time over the years. In his spare time, David enjoyed painting, listening to music, hanging out at local coffee shops and diners, reading espionage and thriller novels, and, with his eye for quality, scouring the Salvation Army for a great deal on a nice shirt.
Arrangements entrusted to Taylor Funeral Home