Obituaries/Notices
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Dunlop, David
It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of David Dunlop
after a long battle and decline with Alzheimer’s.
David died on Thursday, August 27th at the H.J. McFarland Memorial Home, Picton
in his 82nd year.
David was a most loving and caring husband of Diane Covington who felt blessed to be his wife.
He was a much loved father to Jonathan and Nicky (Anthony) and a proud, fun loving Gramps to
James, Katelyn, Lily, Olivia and Charlotte. Fondly remembered by Alex.
David was born in England in May 1939 to a distinguished military family.
The world was on the cusp of war. His father, a Major General in the British Army,
was a senior officer in Singapore in 1942 when the city state fell victim to the Japanese invasion.
David showed early promise as an athlete. He attended Winchester College, then and now one of the leading independent schools in England, where he played on the first cricket team. Cricket was a lifelong passion.
Aspiring to see something of the world, David came to Canada in the fall of 1957 to study at McGill University and felt so liberated by the joys of Montreal and the relative breeziness of Canadian society that he decided to stay.
He became a Canadian citizen as soon as it was possible for him to do so.
On graduation he plunged into the world of Canadian business. He worked for some years at Proctor and Gamble but became disillusioned when asked to coat an extracted tooth with P&G toothpaste and measure how long it took the coated tooth to dissolve in a glass of Coca Cola. He felt called to greater challenges. He subsequently joined National Trust where he held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, eventually becoming Vice-President in Toronto and Senior Vice President Trust and Estates from 1979 to 1985. He especially loved his time in Vancouver with its English-style climate and sporting opportunities, and after returning to Toronto he kept up with his many Vancouver friends
(sporting and otherwise) for the rest of his life.
In 1985 he joined Royal Trust in Toronto as Senior Vice President, Corporate Financial Services. During this period David settled his family in an area of North York then called Hogg’s Hollow (now more grandly referred to as York Mills Valley). He was a friendly and popular figure. With skills learned on the playing fields of Winchester College he regularly won the York Mills Valley Fair’s annual long distance egg throwing contest. His children, Jonathan and Nicky, helped keep him humble. He became, and remained, a very active member of the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club. Royal Trust was acquired by the Royal Bank of Canada in 1993, and David was appointed the bank’s Senior Vice President, Global Securities Services. By the time David retired the Bank’s custody department had become the 11th largest such group in the world. Under his leadership custody assets had grown from $30 billion in 1986 to over $1 trillion in 2001. For many years David was also a Director of the industry organization, Canadian Depository for Securities, including 3 years on the Audit Committee, member of the Executive Committee and eventually Vice-President. Prior to his retirement he was also Vice Chairman of the Canadian Markets Association.
In December 2001, at a black-tie dinner in London, England, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his exemplary services to the global custody industry. David had joined Canada with enthusiasm in the 1950s and over the next half century, with a ready smile and personal charm, he enjoyed and contributed to every community across the country where he lived, and helped grow his chosen industry of financial services to new global heights.
Upon his retirement David and Diane moved to their country house in Wellington, Prince Edward County, in a beautifully restored house on the shores of Lake Ontario, where they intended to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, in recent years, David was tragically and progressively struck down by Alzheimer’s disease. As the disease eroded his memory David still took joy in long walks with their dog (“Petey”), but sometimes he forgot when he had last taken out the dog, and summonsed the exhausted dog for yet another forced circuit around the town. Occasionally on these walks David would become disoriented but if that happened friends and neighbours in Wellington, with the solidarity of a small town, and recognizing David’s plight, would gently bring David (and the exhausted Petey) home. The help in these last years of friends and neighbours is greatly appreciated.
The family would like to thank the staff at the McFarland Memorial Home for their warmth and for the devoted care they gave to David.
A private family burial will take place at Glenwood Cemetery, Picton
with the Reverend Steve Spicer officiating.
Memorial donations to the Alzheimer’s Society, Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation or to the
Storehouse Food Bank would be appreciated by the family.
Online donations and condolences at
www.ainsworthfuneralhome.com
Arrangements entrusted to the Ainsworth Funeral Home,
288 Noxon Avenue, Wellington, ON
Memorial Donations to the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation
may be made by cheque and mailed to 403 Main Street, Picton, ON K0K 2T0
or online at www.pecmhf.ca
Memorial Donations to the Alzheimer Society of PEC may be made by cheque and mailed to
Alzheimer Society of PEC, 90 King Street, Picton, ON K0K 2T0
Memorial Donations to the Store House Food Bank may be made by cheque and mailed to
Box 441, Wellington, ON K0K 3L0 or online at www.wellingtonfoodbank.org
