FIELD, Richard Dudley 'Dick' - Born in Birchcliff, Toronto on November 6, 1924, passed peacefully on August 17, 2018 at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre, Toronto. He lived a long and productive life, full of passion and intensity.
Predeceased by his parents, Richard Walter Alfred Hardy Field in 1987 and Winifred Rose Cooper in 2001, Dick’s youth was spent at Birchcliff Public School, Scarborough Collegiate Institute, and summer holidays at cottages near Parry Sound.
After high school, Dick joined active service and fought in World War II with the Canadian Army Second Division Artillery in Belgium, Holland, and Germany. After the war Dick was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Canadian Army Reserves.
On his return to Canada, he married his sweetheart and love of his life, Gene Graham of Toronto (deceased 2007).
Dick completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto and a certificate in Industrial Relations at Queen’s University.
Dick and Gene welcomed three children, Penny, Nancy (deceased 1996), and Richard George.
Dick worked hard for his family in Industrial Relations at Stelco, in car sales, and established his long term career at Crown Life Insurance Company in Toronto.
In 1995 Dick returned to Holland to march with other WWII veterans in a parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the war.
Nearing retirement at Crown Life, he and Gene founded TravelSpace Inc., where he worked and led group tours.
Dick brought an intense focus and passion to his hobbies, which included sailing, underwater archaeology, political engagement, the Montgomery Tavern Society, and the Voice of Canadians.
Dick will be deeply missed by his sisters Barbara (Peter Keen) and Judy (David Barley), his children Penny and Richard (Nancy), nieces and nephews Evelyn, Cathy, Eric, Trevor, Valerie, Denise, Alex, Mark, and grandchildren Laura, Mimsey, Dan, and Caitlyn.
Dick will be fondly remembered by the Queen’s York Rangers, and the Crown Life 25 Year Friendship Club where he was president. His scuba diving comrades will miss his youthful capacity for hard work and relentless focus on scouting shipwrecks on their boat the Nellie Mae. Dick’s political friends and opponents will remember his intrepid fight for democracy. All will miss his steady support and generous help.
The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for their care, and especially the staff of the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre where he lived the last year of his long and fruitful life.
A celebration of life will be held at the Morley Bedford Funeral Home, Toronto on Saturday September 29, 2018, with visiting starting at 1:00 p.m., and the program at 2:00.
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