In Celebration of

David Graham Parkinson

March 7, 1948 -  January 4, 2025


Graham died on Saturday, January 4, 2025 after a short illness resulting from consequences of Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his wife and partner of 50 years, Evelyn Clarke, and their son David.

Born in Manchester in 1948, Graham won a scholarship to St. Peter’s College, Oxford, going on to complete his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at Manchester University. He moved to Canada in 1974 to pursue a career in Nuclear Engineering, working for AECL and later Ontario Hydro. Graham was known in the neighborhood as the “fix-it” man, always willing to lend a hand or advice on home repairs or renovations. He was an avid birdwatcher who loved the outdoors, particularly hiking and camping. In later years, he was an active volunteer with the Bloor Village Players, whose set building team will greatly miss his technical expertise and meticulous organizational skills. Other organizations which benefitted from his volunteer work included the Royal Ontario Museum, the now-defunct Canadian Air and Space Museum at Downsview, and Out of the Cold and other programmes at All Saints Kingsway. Another interest was the history of Antarctic exploration; he had a fine collection of books and ephemera relating to the topic and was a great admirer of Amundsen and Shackleton. We will remember him for his sense of humor, his kindness and his creativity.

The family would like to thank the staff at Toronto Rehab and at Labdara Nursing Home for their support in the last two years of his life.

In accordance with his wishes, there will be no Visitation or Funeral service. Instead, there will be a celebration of life on Saturday, January 18th at 2pm at All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church, 2850 Bloor Street West.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Graham's name may be made to FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program for bird protection) or to the Parkinson's Society.

Guestbook 

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Maxyne FOSTER, (old friend)

Entered January 9, 2025 from Thornhill

Dear Evelyn and David,
Phil and I are so sorry to hear of Graham's passing. My first meeting with him was on the phone when he called to tell me of your arrival David. Graham spoke to me as if we were already old friends, sharing openly and warmly about experiences of the last few days. I suspected he would be as easy to fall in love with as Evelyn and I was right.

During all the succeeding years I have appreciated his down to earth, gentle manner, attentive yet inobtrusive way of joining in. At my house he was the dog whisperer with a berserk little puppy- the only person who could calm Boggy down.

We will miss him.

micaela serra (friend for 51 years)

Entered January 10, 2025 from Victoria

We became landed immigrants to Canada at the same time more or less and we merged our cultural experiences: British and Italian, molded by Canada. Your wonderful wife, Evelyn, is my dearest person in life. You fascinated me with your carpentry tools, "bored" me with your bird watching, delighted at the parties and your wedding, became the "fun ogre" to my daughter, and helped gave us the wonderful David. Your devotion to Evelyn and David was heartwarming and your accent often inexplicable to me! We shared physics and math, but I was never at your level. These last few years have been tough, and yet, just 3 years ago, you beat me at cribbage! I will miss your twinkling eyes and smile and hugs.

Sarah Hastie (friend)

Entered January 11, 2025 from Toronto

Dear Evelyn and David,
I'm very sorry to hear about Graham. He was always such a lovely, kind and humorous man whenever I spoke with him. Sending my condolences to you.

Priscilla Healy (Friend)

Entered January 12, 2025 from Etobicoke

Graham was a remarkable man and will be much missed by his friends at All Saints. For Evelyn and David, blesssings and peace.

Glenn Archinoff (Colleague)

Entered January 13, 2025

I was a colleague of Graham's for many years. He graciously shared his knowledge with me and others, always with a great sense of humour. Graham was well respected by his peers, and looked up to for his expertise and his ability to clearly communicate complex ideas. My sincere condolences to family and friends.

Photos 

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