DEONANDAN, Walter - On July 21, 2021, his 89th birthday, Walter Deonandan -- beloved father, husband, brother, grandfather, and friend -- left this world.
He lived a full and magnificent life. And though there were some challenging days during the last couple of months, due to the effects of Lewy Body Dementia, almost all of his many years were in great health and good spirits.
In the end, he said the other side was beckoning to him and he was fearless and eager to go; so we know it was his proper time to say goodbye.
Born Deonandan Deonarine in Windsor Forest, Guyana, Walter (also known as Bayto) was the eldest son of ten children and would later acquire five more half siblings. When he was very young, his beloved mother Rajkumarie died suddenly, imploring Walter to “look after the little ones.” He would spend the entirety of his life looking after others, serving as the patriarch to a wide diversity of people, all of whom saw him as a moral and honourable man whose approval and wisdom were frequently sought.
He married his childhood friend Sursati, and the two of them raised five children –Kalowatie (Raj), Abhi (Kathy), Bhashkar (Susan), Phanindra, and Raywat (Britt)-- and would later be blessed with one biological grandchild, Harrison, and two “grandchildren by choice” whom he loved like his own: Claire and Nathan Marsh.
Walter endured the many hardships of Guyana village life and embraced self-education and self-improvement, teaching himself the heights and depths of history, geography, political science, and literature. A philosophical man who quoted Marx, Tagore, and Longfellow, he worked as a labourer for most of his life, deriving much wisdom and perspective from having clawed his way out of poverty through the hard work of his hands alone.
Walter and Sursati moved their young family first to New York then to Toronto in the late 1960s. Walter would work for several employers --the Toronto General Hospital, Kendall, and Toronto Hydro-- before retiring in 1997. In that time, he taught himself to play the harmonium, and devoted much of his time to Indian music and the spiritual study of Arya Samaj Hinduism.
He always maintained a passion for education and till the end advocated for all young people, especially girls, to devote themselves to formal higher education. A scholarship at the University of Toronto bears his name, and we encourage those wishing to honour him to consider donating to the “Because I am a Girl” charity of Plan International, in lieu of flowers or gifts.
It is important to know that Walter never feared death. He had faith that his atma was destined for a new and better life. We, in turn, have faith that he is reunited in the loving arms of his much missed mother. It is telling that he returned to her on the same day that she gave him to the world.
We would like you to remember our beloved Daddy/Bayto/Papa/Aja through the words of his favourite poem, Longfellow’s “A Psalm Of Life”:
Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem...Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time.
Arrangements are entrusted with Giffen-Mack funeral home, Danforth chapel.
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