Obituary for David Albert Francis Carr
Carr, David Albert Francis.
It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of our father and grandfather on February 7, 2021 from complications arising from heart disease and associated dementia. David was born in St. John, New Brunswick, on October 23, 1936 to Thomas and Marjorie Carr (nee Kelly) and younger brother to Barbara. The family moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where he grew up. David spent most of his adult life in the Toronto area, finally settling in Newmarket in 1980, where the family put down solid roots in the community. He is pre-deceased by his wife of 43 years, Sally (2012) and his sister Barbara Brescacin (2017). He will be dearly missed by his three children: Susan (Joe), Jeff (Josette), and Tracy (Todd) and seven grandchildren: Cam and Evan Howieson, Jordan, Jessica and Makayla Rickards; Gabrielle and Lucas Carr.
David loved nothing better than to be around family and friends. He was a great social organizer, always the life at any gathering with his friendly, easygoing nature, his laughter, and his interest in others. He loved having an audience for his never-ending supply of stories – some of the classics were about his early years working for the Atmospheric Environment Service (now Environment Canada), working at a weather station among the wild horses on Sable Island, observing ice floes in the Arctic, and flying in a bush plane in Ontario’s far north to check remote weather stations and crash landing after one of the plane doors fell off.
David loved to curl, skate and golf, but his real passion was downhill skiing. Growing up in Thunder Bay, he was a ski instructor at Mt. Baldy and was the go-to instructor for family, friends and friends-of-friends who wanted to learn how to ski. Over the years he had many trips with his ski-bum buddies, but the most memorable were the ‘dads and kids’ March Break ski trips to Quebec and Vermont, that involved skiing, good food and usually too much wine. He kept active on the slopes in his later years, and made his last downhill run at the age of 77.
David was passionate about airplanes and cars. He learned how to fly from his father, Thomas, who was an RCAF pilot and later a bush pilot in Northern Ontario. Mechanically inclined, David was drawn to fixing up old ‘project’ cars. He would spend many Sunday afternoons puttering away on some old clunker that he would inevitably get back into tip top condition, then promptly sell, only to bring on the next project car. In his later years, David became a big fan of NASCAR, and followed the sport closely. The highlight was a trip he took with his son to Talladega Alabama for the UAW-Ford 500 race in 2005.
In the summer, David was most happy at the family cottage on Georgian Bay. He rarely sat down to enjoy the sun, preferring to putter around the island with an endless supply of projects: building and rebuilding decks, docks, bedrooms, and replacing windows and doors, all of which were done as ‘temporary solutions’ – which guaranteed those projects would need to be re-done shortly after they were ‘finished’ 😊. David was a master at recruiting help for larger projects, securing the efforts of family and friends with the promise of a good steak and beer. Starting in the 80’s, the highlight of his summer was the annual “wing ding” when many friends gathered for a long weekend at the cottage. The crowd usually consumed over 30 lbs of BBQ chicken wings, more cases of beer and bottles of wine than may seem reasonable, and they talked late into the evenings, discussing (and solving) all of the world’s problems.
He loved to take his grandchildren to the cottage, where they would roam freely and get into all sorts of trouble without their parents knowing. He would send them off with some wood, nails and a hammer to build forts or teach them to use a 10 Horsepower tin boat to explore the waters around the island. The kids always came home happy and exhausted.
In the colder months, David’s happy place was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he visited every winter since 1994 with his wife, Sally. Over the years, they made friends with many of the locals and looked forward to catching up with them during their annual trips. In 2018 David travelled to Puerto Vallarta with his daughters, Susan and Tracy, when he was able to enjoy the Mexican sunshine for the last time. As a widower, David continued to travel, taking a cruise to the Panama Canal and across the Atlantic to Europe.
David will be cremated and his ashes will lie beside his wife Sally at the Newmarket Cemetery. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a celebration of David’s life will take place at a later date when his friends and family can gather to have a party that he would have loved to attend.
We would like to thank the staff at Sunrise Senior Living of Richmond Hill for providing our father and grandfather the best possible quality of life over the past four years while his health was in decline.
Donations would be welcome to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Princess Margaret Hospital or the charity of your choice.
It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of our father and grandfather on February 7, 2021 from complications arising from heart disease and associated dementia. David was born in St. John, New Brunswick, on October 23, 1936 to Thomas and Marjorie Carr (nee Kelly) and younger brother to Barbara. The family moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where he grew up. David spent most of his adult life in the Toronto area, finally settling in Newmarket in 1980, where the family put down solid roots in the community. He is pre-deceased by his wife of 43 years, Sally (2012) and his sister Barbara Brescacin (2017). He will be dearly missed by his three children: Susan (Joe), Jeff (Josette), and Tracy (Todd) and seven grandchildren: Cam and Evan Howieson, Jordan, Jessica and Makayla Rickards; Gabrielle and Lucas Carr.
David loved nothing better than to be around family and friends. He was a great social organizer, always the life at any gathering with his friendly, easygoing nature, his laughter, and his interest in others. He loved having an audience for his never-ending supply of stories – some of the classics were about his early years working for the Atmospheric Environment Service (now Environment Canada), working at a weather station among the wild horses on Sable Island, observing ice floes in the Arctic, and flying in a bush plane in Ontario’s far north to check remote weather stations and crash landing after one of the plane doors fell off.
David loved to curl, skate and golf, but his real passion was downhill skiing. Growing up in Thunder Bay, he was a ski instructor at Mt. Baldy and was the go-to instructor for family, friends and friends-of-friends who wanted to learn how to ski. Over the years he had many trips with his ski-bum buddies, but the most memorable were the ‘dads and kids’ March Break ski trips to Quebec and Vermont, that involved skiing, good food and usually too much wine. He kept active on the slopes in his later years, and made his last downhill run at the age of 77.
David was passionate about airplanes and cars. He learned how to fly from his father, Thomas, who was an RCAF pilot and later a bush pilot in Northern Ontario. Mechanically inclined, David was drawn to fixing up old ‘project’ cars. He would spend many Sunday afternoons puttering away on some old clunker that he would inevitably get back into tip top condition, then promptly sell, only to bring on the next project car. In his later years, David became a big fan of NASCAR, and followed the sport closely. The highlight was a trip he took with his son to Talladega Alabama for the UAW-Ford 500 race in 2005.
In the summer, David was most happy at the family cottage on Georgian Bay. He rarely sat down to enjoy the sun, preferring to putter around the island with an endless supply of projects: building and rebuilding decks, docks, bedrooms, and replacing windows and doors, all of which were done as ‘temporary solutions’ – which guaranteed those projects would need to be re-done shortly after they were ‘finished’ 😊. David was a master at recruiting help for larger projects, securing the efforts of family and friends with the promise of a good steak and beer. Starting in the 80’s, the highlight of his summer was the annual “wing ding” when many friends gathered for a long weekend at the cottage. The crowd usually consumed over 30 lbs of BBQ chicken wings, more cases of beer and bottles of wine than may seem reasonable, and they talked late into the evenings, discussing (and solving) all of the world’s problems.
He loved to take his grandchildren to the cottage, where they would roam freely and get into all sorts of trouble without their parents knowing. He would send them off with some wood, nails and a hammer to build forts or teach them to use a 10 Horsepower tin boat to explore the waters around the island. The kids always came home happy and exhausted.
In the colder months, David’s happy place was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he visited every winter since 1994 with his wife, Sally. Over the years, they made friends with many of the locals and looked forward to catching up with them during their annual trips. In 2018 David travelled to Puerto Vallarta with his daughters, Susan and Tracy, when he was able to enjoy the Mexican sunshine for the last time. As a widower, David continued to travel, taking a cruise to the Panama Canal and across the Atlantic to Europe.
David will be cremated and his ashes will lie beside his wife Sally at the Newmarket Cemetery. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a celebration of David’s life will take place at a later date when his friends and family can gather to have a party that he would have loved to attend.
We would like to thank the staff at Sunrise Senior Living of Richmond Hill for providing our father and grandfather the best possible quality of life over the past four years while his health was in decline.
Donations would be welcome to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Princess Margaret Hospital or the charity of your choice.