Douglas Gordon Wright
October 11th, 1946-October 28th, 2024

We are heartbroken to announce the death of our Doug-Linda’s beloved
husband of 51 years and much-loved father of Angela and the late Anthony.
Doug died after a brief stay at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, following a fall. Doug had been coping with the symptoms of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a variant of Parkinson’s Disease.

Doug was born in Sudbury, Ontario to the late Melvyn and Anna Wright (nee Behan). He was the second eldest of five siblings-Marilyn Casey, Robert, Donald and Peter Wright. After elementary school, he attended Lockerby Composite High and then left home at 18 to attend Northern Ontario Institute of Technology in Kirkland Lake where he studied Electronics. He made many long lasting friends there. He moved to Toronto in 1968 where he lived (and partied) with several great friends in a Don Mills townhouse.

In 1970 he met his future wife, Linda (nee Blacket), just six weeks after she’d emigrated by ship from England. They met in a popular dance bar of the time called the “Coal Bin” in downtown Toronto. Doug had been there with a friend since noon. They met at 10 pm when their eyes met across the crowded room and he asked her to dance! They married at Christ Church, Southgate, in London, England on June 16th, 1973.

After two years in an apartment, Doug and Linda bought their first house on Cleveland Street in Toronto. This was where they had the first of three Golden Retrievers, Brandy. In 1980 their son, Anthony was born and Doug was so happy to be a father. Sadly, Anthony was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 10 months. In 1980 they moved to a larger home on Airdrie Road,Toronto where they lived for 43 years. Their daughter, Angela, was born in 1988. Doug was so proud of his little girl and she brought much joy to their lives. During the years on Airdrie, two more Golden Retrievers, Jake and Samson joined the household.

As Anthony’s health and disabilities worsened, Doug and Linda became involved with the start-up of the Safehaven Project for Community Living to provide small group homes for children with complex medical needs. Doug was on the Property Committee which was tasked with finding the first homes. At age 11, Anthony moved into a lovely house on Clayland Drive, where he lived with 4 other children in a wonderful environment with compassionate care and facilities, including an outdoor pool. It was only a short drive from their home so they could visit whenever they wanted. Tragically, Anthony’s health gradually declined and he died at Clayland in 2002 at the age of 21.

Doug worked as a computer engineer at various companies throughout his career until he retired early at 55, whilst Linda continued to work in the travel industry. Doug took over full household responsibilities-doing all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, gardening and general maintenance. Friends marvelled that Doug would buy Linda clothes that always fit, as well as jewellery. Linda loved this and kept on working as long as she could! When Linda’s widowed mother, Enid, immigrated to Canada in 2000 and bought a condo just around the corner, Doug took on the role of chauffeur and would take Enid grocery shopping and help her with other chores when Linda was working.

Doug was also a very hands-on Dad and enjoyed coaching Angela at softball and other activities. He drove her to and from St Clement’s high school, and enjoyed their daily car chats and listening to classic rock together. He encouraged her with her university education but missed her when she went to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, then moved to Nova Scotia for a year, eventually moving to London, England where she still lives. Angela flew to Toronto and was able to reach Doug’s bedside two days before he died peacefully with his “girls” holding his hand, after playing and singing his favourite songs.

Doug will be fondly remembered by their many friends, family and neighbours for being a party guy and a generous host, as well as a talented cook. There were many parties on Airdrie over the years including the infamous annual Boxing Day party. Their friends’ kids and Angela’s friends also have fun memories of all those lively occasions. He loved music, with Bob Marley being a particular favourite. Doug and Linda loved to dance. Apart from the Coal Bin, friends have remembered fun times drinking beer with Doug at bars like the Chez Moi, Caps & Scruffy Murphys. And always his friendly greeting and cheerful smile.

Linda and Doug enjoyed travelling and had frequent holidays in the Caribbean and Mexico, in addition to Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises and loved river cruising in Europe. There were many trips to England where Linda’s father, Stan, went to great pains to show him only the most scenic parts of London and England in the hopes of persuading Doug to move there-to no avail.

They travelled regularly to Sudbury to visit Doug’s large family where there were many family meals around the kitchen table. There were frequent extended family occasions with weddings and various celebrations with aunts, uncles and cousins. He had so many happy times at the family “camp” on Trout Lake in Northern Ontario where Doug loved to fish, hunt, boat and swim, usually with one of the Golden Retrievers beside him, while his mother cooked up a storm for everyone.

Doug loved to walk the neighbourhood and their vet once commented that he had the most walked dogs in Leaside! The last dog became known as Second Cup Sam for the amount of time they spent having coffee outside that cafe. Doug made a number of friends just sitting there on the patio. The Airdrie neighbours miss seeing him sitting on the front porch beside the dog with a coffee or wine.

One of Doug’s work buddies introduced him to sailing and he joined the Toronto Hydroplane and Sailing Club at Ashbridges Bay as crew member. Eventually, he bought his own sail boat “Celaya” with a friend, enjoying weekly racing and leisurely sails on Lake Ontario. He patiently tried to teach Linda to sail but realized that she just enjoyed being a passenger rather than crew! Eventually, the boat became a “floating bar” and was sold after some 15 years but they remained social members and Doug would still regularly drink with the “boys” on the D-dock patio.

After Doug’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s and injuries from a fall downstairs, the Airdrie house was sold and in March this year, they moved to a lovely condominium apartment which was far more accessible for him.

Linda and Angela would like to give special thanks to the paramedics, emergency room and Palliative Care Unit staff at Sunnybrook Hospital who were so kind and supportive throughout Doug’s time there. Also, thank you to the skilled doctors who provided such great care of Doug over the past couple of years including Dr. Darrell Ginsberg, Dr. Grace Leung, Dr. Priscilla Kwan and Dr. Alan Tam.

There will be a private cremation at 10 a.m. on November 8th at Mount Pleasant Crematorium, followed by a private interment at Mount Pleasant Cemetery at 10 a.m. on November 13th. Please think of Doug at those times.

A memorial service will be held at the Church of the Transfiguration, 111 Manor Road East, Toronto at 10.30 a.m. on Saturday, November 16th, with reception to follow at the church.

The service will also be live-streamed on Zoom for those unable to attend in person.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4164897798
Meeting ID: 416 489 7798

Donations may be made to the Safehaven Project for Community Living (safehaven.to), Sunnybrook Hospital Palliative Care Unit (sunnybrook.ca/palliativecare) or Parkinson Canada (parkinson.ca)