In Celebration of

Edward D. Marchant

September 6, 1927 -  August 16, 2017

Born September 6, 1927, Ed Marchant was the youngest of 5 children in a remarkable family of interesting and accomplished individuals. His father, Cecil Marchant, of Portsmouth, England met and married his mother, Florence Fey, a beautiful blonde (in Cecil's words) in British Guyana. They left the warmth and sun of British Guyana and journeyed to the winter city of Winnipeg, Manitoba for Cecil's job as an editor of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Growing up in Winnipeg, the quintessential hockey town, Ed developed a passion and skill for the game as a boy and by his teen years he was playing in the city's top Junior A team, the Winnipeg Monarchs. A high point of this period was in 1946 when the scrappy Monarch's became Canadian Major Junior Hockey Champions and won the Memorial Cup in a thrilling 7 game upset against the favoured Toronto team, the St. Michael's Majors in front of a sell-out crowd at Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens. Eddie Marchant and the rest of the 1946 Winnipeg Monarchs team were inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. Ed continued to play throughout Canada and the U.S. as a professional hockey player for several leagues including the Western and Eastern Leagues until the early 1950's.

With his thirties fast approaching Ed decided to focus on a career in finance since he had been involved from an early age with family owned investment real estate. Upon graduating from the University of Manitoba, he obtained his chartered accountant designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba and the CICA and began working as a tax partner at Deloitte, Haskins and Sells in Winnipeg. He later moved to Toronto to work as a tax partner at Coopers & Lybrand.

Ed Marchant's extensive business background includes positions as CEO Seaway Trust Co.; Shareholder, Director, Chairman, Audit Committee & Residential Property Committee of Barbican Properties Inc.; Chairman CICA Pension Trustees; CFO Great Northern Capital Corp; CFO Bramalea Ltd. He was the Founder, President & CEO of Exchequer Trust Co.

In the 1970's, Ed Marchant founded several Marchant companies including a real estate development company which developed and sold several thousand units in high-rise condominium buildings in the Toronto area, a property management company that managed several thousand units of residential real estate and a securities company which serviced NHA and conventional mortgages for pension funds and individuals.

Ed was involved in many professional and industry association activities and served as an executive on several professional and volunteer boards and committees notably the Special Committee of Canadian Institution of Chartered Accountants to study and make recommendations on Carter Royal Commission Report on Taxation; and served on Committees for both the Canadian Institute of Public Real Estate Companies and The Urban Development Institute to study tax reform and make representations to Commons & Senate Finance Committees. He was a Lecturer in the C.A. course of instruction on tazation and author of articles for professional journals on finance, taxation and real estate subjects. He acted as a Moderator and panelist for C.A. related industry seminars such as CICA Annual Meetings, Canadian Tax Foundation and corporate seminars. He assisted CMHC in drafting regulations for the Assisted Rental Program and in promoting programs to real estate industry (MURBS).

Ed and Irene were avid golfers, whether it was in Florida at the Jupiter Hills Club or the Mississauga Golf and Country Club (since 1978) and spent many memorable hours on the golf course with good friends. He spent several years as a Volunteer Coach for his son Daryl's hockey teams.

Along with his business legacy and a reputation for reliability, integrity and generosity perhaps Ed's most important attribute was that of committed, loving and always loyal family man. Undaunted by the fact that she had three young children, he married Irene, a bonny Scottish lass, in 1970 and together with his two young sons and her three, they raised a blended family of five children through their (sometimes hair raising) teens and adulthood. Ed relished the joy of being a grandpa to several grandkids and great-grandkids.

Husband of Irene. Children: Greg (Starr), Daryl, Diane (Gary), Joanne (Allen), Ian (Teresa). Grandchildren, Penny Sandra, Danielle, Taylor, Morgan, Michael, Jennifer, James and Colin. Great-grandchildren, Nicole, Jacob, Nathan, Sam, Lane and Mina. Predeceased by his parents and his siblings, Harold, Joyce, Butch and Cecil.

There are five simple, yet essential "rules" for life that we can learn from Ed Marchant:

1. Follow your dreams.
Whether it was playing his beloved sport of hockey or starting up his own companies, Ed always followed his heart which isn't necessarily the safest approach to life, yet he would be the first to say that it definitely has the most rewards.

2. It's OK to take risks.
An avid proponent of carefully balancing risk and caution, Ed took on one of the biggest challenges of his career and developed
and built a landmark luxury condominium, The Passages of Jupiter Island in Florida, still considered one of the finest condo developments in the area.

3. Take care of yourself.
Ed's commitment to a healthy lifestyle including daily work-outs, a nutritious diet, and lots of laughter, no doubt contributed to his long and vibrant life.

4. Treats are OK once in a while.
While he often beat himself up for his well-known sweet tooth and love (and sometimes over-indulgence) for a certain brand of chocolates and ice cream he knew that life is miserable without a treat now and then and that the challenge is always "just not too much".

5. Share your life and times with the people who really matter to you.
While Ed may have been a wee bit of a workaholic at times, ever responsible and conscious that the bills needed to get paid, he knew work and the riches you leave behind are not the most important aspect of life and that at the end of your days what really matters are those who love and care for you.

Donations may be made to the Ian Anderson House (In resident Cancer Hospice) .

Guestbook 

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Anita & Kevin Rodobolski 

Entered August 17, 2017 from Cambridge

Your family is in our thoughts snd prayers during this sad & difficult time.

Patricia Ruffo 

Entered August 18, 2017

He was wonderful generous man and I will always have great memories of him.

LUANNE (BURTON) & GERRY MURPHY, sons Gerry Jr, Easton, Lucas, and grandson Gerhard Jr. (Neice)

Entered August 18, 2017 from Cochrane, Alberta

Our prayers are with all of you. Bless you all. When I think of my of our family visits to your home, I remember great food, lots of laughter, many hugs and kisses, and of course, Uncle Eds impressive office with its large desk, big leather chair, and boxes of cigars. Thank you for the fond memories. Cheers to a wonderful man and his wonderful life.

Taylor Marchant, Bradley Dean and Charlie Dean (Granddaughter and Great Grandson)

Entered August 18, 2017 from Grande Prairie

So sorry for your loss and wish we could be there. We made a donation on grandpa's behalf.

Francesca Hirchak and Gary Hirchak (Ian's sister in law)

Entered August 19, 2017 from Etobicoke

I am so sorry to hear this. He was well liked by the Durante and Hirchak family. My condolences to all

Photos 

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