Obituary Paul Ritchie
PAUL RITCHIE (1968-2018),

PAUL RITCHIE died on December 7, 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He is survived by his siblings, Elizabeth Scott, Charles, David and Alan Lyons. He is also survived by his two nephews Eric and Michael Scott. He was born and raised in Scarborough Ontario. Paul suffered from severe Autism (Very Low on the Autism Spectrum) since birth. As he was born in the late 1960’s, Autism was just being “discovered” by the medical community. Due to this, he was initially diagnosed as mentally retarded and was placed in related programs. He was not diagnosed with Autism until he was 7 years old, which handicapped him even more as he was that much older. Our parents, James and Eleanor, along with a group of other parents formed the grass roots of what is now Autism Ontario, formerly known as the Ontario Society for Autistic Children (OSAC). My parents and OSAC had to advocate and lobby very hard for treatment and educational services for persons suffering from Autism. With the teaching and support that Paul received he was eventually able to learn how to speak and could communicate in sign language. As he grew older his physical tantrums ceased. As he grew to be an adult, his manner was calmer. He attended special education classes at both the elementary and secondary levels in the Roman Catholic School System. He was very active playing many different sports such as bowling, baseball and in 1989 was a participant in the track events at the Canadian national Special Olympics held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Unfortunately, soon after he was diagnosed with Lymphoma in his legs. His death was partially due to this physical illness. Paul was a very happy, friendly outgoing person who brought a lot of joy into other peoples’ lives. He loved life. He enjoyed going on trips near and far. He was a Walt Disney Animated Movies fanatic. He enjoyed going to church to practice his religious beliefs. He was able to do most of the things that a “normal” adult can. The Roman Catholic Burial Mass will commence at 10:00 am on Friday December 14 at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine located at 3170 St Clair Ave East, located east of Victoria Park. His body will be interred with his parents following the mass at Pine Hills Cemetery located at 625 Birchmount Road, Scarborough, ON