On November 27, 2022, I lost a huge piece of my heart. My sweet Grandpa Doug passed away at the age of 87.
He was always the life of the party and the biggest adrenaline junkie. He grew up in the Toronto Beaches and at a young age, fell in love with sports. Over the years, he excelled at hockey and played for the Toronto Marlies in his teens alongside some future NHL players.
Realizing he could never work a desk job, someone suggested he should give firefighting a shot. After 36 years on the job, he retired as a Captain. Firefighting was the perfect gig for my grandpa…that’s what he used to say. The rush of the job, the bonding with the guys, and the sports they played together was what made it for him. There were so many stories he used to tell my brother and I as kids…if you ever met my grandpa, you probably heard one too…like being blown through brick walls and putting a hose through someone’s car window.
My grandpa loved to party and enjoyed his beer, flashy cars and gold jewellery. He was always “dressed to the nines” and looking fly no matter the occasion. He loved the ladies and chatting up a storm. He was lucky enough to be married to my beautiful grandma for over 50 years.
Skiing was his passion too; so much so that he went heli-skiing and kite skiing…where they drop you out of helicopter and kite on to a mountain. I remember him saying even that was a bit crazy for him.
All this toughness aside, my grandpa softened over the years. I was so lucky to witness his beautiful heart. He taught me how to golf and always encouraged me to play sports. He would come watch me play soccer starting with my house league years at 4 years old to my days at U of T. He was one of my biggest cheerleaders.
My grandpa treated me like his own daughter and Marek like a son. I will forever treasure our special times together.
Forever your little girl, Grandpa …♥️🕊
“One of the great truths in this life is that if we know love, we will know loss. The more we love, the more the loss will hurt. Yet, if we don’t love, what’s the point in being here? When we can courageously love with all our heart, the reward is that through that love we will know depths in our heart and being otherwise inaccessible. What a gift. Still, things will never be the same. And who or what we have loved so deeply and lost will continue to be our teacher through our grief as our heart is rearranged yet again. I think that when someone or something we love dies, we who love them are drawn to the other side. In fact, grief is how we straddle for a time between life and death, a time that can’t be measured in hours or days, a time in which the deeper truths come in like a wind through the breaks in our heart.”
~Mark Nepo
Douglas Hugh English
Jan 19, 1935-Nov 27, 2022
My Hero 👩🚒♥️
