Dear all … this is a personal post about my older brother Dave (David) who passed away on July 5th. I had the honour of doing a eulogy for him along with our younger brother Bruce.
Creating Dave’s eulogy was a unique opportunity for a deep dive into childhood memories as well as the privilege of hearing stories about him from his wife, daughters and others. The process brought tears as well as laughter and great appreciation for our brother. As my younger brother Bruce and I debated wording and sequence, we too bonded over the special relationships we both had with Dave.
Here’s a little of what Bruce and I said.
“Dave was my big brother, which meant I wanted to emulate everything he did and join in with all his games and activities. Dave, of course, didn’t need his little sister tagging along after him. However, sometimes he let me play ‘cowboys and Indians’ or bicycle tag with his gang of friends or helped me swing out over the river near our house on a tire attached to a tree by a rope.
As a family, we tobogganed in a nearby ravine, went on picnics, attended church every Sunday, enjoyed the early days of TV, and endlessly watched trains with our father who was a model railroader and train fanatic. Dave has shared Dad’s love of trains ever since.
Growing up, Dave played hockey, joined cubs and then scouts, learned to sail and ski, and joined a church youth group. In school, he excelled at English, History and Geography and went on to earn a degree in history from Carleton followed by his Teaching Certificate. Unfortunately, teaching jobs were scarce, so Dave joined the Ontario government working in tourism by helping small businesses in the Ottawa area expand.”
We went on to describe Dave’s passions and character: his love of family and dedication to his Christian faith; his belief in giving back to the community; his passion for railroading, history, and politics; his embrace of humour and silliness. On that last topic, we said:
“And then there was the famous Dazzling Dave; apparently this began at a dinner event put on by the railroad group in St. Catharines. These events included dancing and karaoke. The first time they went, not long after karaoke began, Dave told Diane that he was going to do “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. It was Dave’s unique interpretation of Mick Jagger’s gyrations that apparently brought the house down with cheers and laughter. That song became a tradition, with the DJ using the name “Dazzling Dave” whenever he announced Dave’s appearance.” As his wife Diane said: “Dave was a party animal.”
On the topic of history, we said: “if you had a question about history, Dave was the man to ask; his knowledge was both wide and deep. For example, last fall, when I told Dave that Ian and I were going to a wedding on Mackinaw Island – he emailed me with a brief history of how the island went from British to American hands. On a few occasions, he even wrote to authors of history books and historical fiction to correct their facts or interpretations of history.
Dave was an avid reader of historical fiction and non-fiction. You can read his take on author Ken Follett’s trilogy that included Fall of Giants and Winter of the World, as well as Edge of Eternity.
My brother was a very fine man who was loved and celebrated by many friends and family members. He will be greatly missed. As we said in the eulogy: Dave – we send you off into God’s hands with our love and admiration.
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.
