David Wood was born in Galt, Ontario (long ago amalgamated into Cambridge, Ontario, to his lasting chagrin) to two career Salvation Army Officers, the gentle Brigadier John Charles (Jack) Wood, who was born in Canterbury, Kent, and the elbows-out Brigadier Carnie MacArthur Wood (nee Coull), born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. David spent his childhood in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. After an undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto during which he played varsity soccer and edited the yearbook, he completed a Masters degree at U of T on the settlement of Dumfries Township, Ontario, and a PhD at Edinburgh University on pioneer experiences around the Peace River in northern Alberta. At university he frequently fell asleep during tutorials and was known as The Late David Wood for his questionable punctuality.

This did not stop him from having a long and distinguished career as a historical geographer, first at the University of Alberta and then for four decades at York University in Toronto. In Edmonton he met Mary Kerpan, who married him despite an inauspicious start when, at a party, he spilled wine on a white carpet and attempted to clean it up with pipe ash. Soon they welcomed Lisa, the first of three children. Stepan and Evan arrived after the family relocated to Toronto.

Joining York University in 1965 as one of the first professors at the new Keele campus, David built Atkinson College’s Geography Department from the ground up. A champion of the College’s distinctive adult education mission, he pioneered remote and life-long learning decades before they were in vogue. He watched in dismay as the University gradually dismantled what he and others had built at Atkinson, dissolving it into the larger institution in the name of efficiency and customer service.

David published important research into the social dynamics of the settlement of Ontario and other British agricultural colonies, including ill-fated efforts to push settlement into agriculturally marginal areas. He spent endless hours in archives poring over diaries, letters and census records. He travelled frequently to destinations as far flung as the Soviet Union, Japan and the Antipodes and always shared fascinating slide shows upon his return, often to a reluctant audience of squirming offspring.

David mentored and was loved by generations of students. An avid squash player, he always had a new crop of young graduate students to keep his game sharp. For years he and Mary hosted the annual York Geography Department’s graduate program picnic at their farm. His love of teaching and mentorship rubbed off on his three children, all of whom became teachers themselves.

As if building an academic career were not enough, in the late 1970s David and family left the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill to try their hand as farmers. They bought a 100 acre farm in Egbert, Ontario, transforming it from a derelict wreck without power or plumbing into a beautiful country home centred around a magnificent circa-1850 two storey log house. The restoration was long and arduous, battling everything from carpenter ants to snow drifts in the living room. David tried valiantly to master all the trades required as a farmer and home restorer. He was always fixing things, but the things he tried to fix often got the better of him. As for animals, the menagerie included dairy goats, horses, pigs, cows and chickens, with Mary managing the farm while David commuted daily to the university.

David had a lifelong commitment to environmental conservation, inculcating in his children and students a deep respect for nature and a love for the outdoors. He created and taught conservation field courses at Albion Hills Conservation Area and reforested large parts of the farm.

Throughout his adult life David pursued a passion for pottery, crafting idiosyncratic and attractive ceramic creations. He was eventually barred by Georgian College in Barrie for registering in the same introductory pottery class for years just to use their kiln. After that he volunteered at the Camp Hill community in Angus, Ontario, creating pottery for them to sell.

Being a child of the Salvation Army, David had music in his blood. He loved brass, choral and organ music. Half Scottish, he also had a taste for bagpipes. He had a mellifluous baritone singing voice and a talent for improvised harmonies and arpeggios on the piano. His true musical love was the trombone, which he learned at an early age and returned to with vigour after retirement, playing with the Baytowne Big Band, Barrie Concert Band and Huronia Symphony Orchestra. Not even the worst weather could stop him from driving to rehearsals and gigs in Barrie.

David’s slight frame belied an iron constitution. He was always active, whether with squash, cross-country skiing or endless farm chores. He almost never got sick even though he exasperated his wife and children by insisting on eating stale and expired food so that it would not go to waste.

Above all, moral integrity, humility and care for others characterized David’s personality. He was principled and firm in his convictions but also generous to a fault.

After some time at retirement communities in Paris, Ontario, David spent his final years in the care of the wonderful staff and volunteers of True Davidson Acres in Toronto, where his humour, good cheer, generosity and decency made lasting impressions on everyone he met.

David was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Mary (nee Kerpan) and his sister Phyllis Wood. He is survived by his children Lisa, Stepan (Nina Hewitt) and Evan (John Ealey), and grandchildren Jonathan, Sara and Solon. He will be sadly missed by beloved relatives including niece Ali Kerpan and sister-in-law Julie Wilby.

“A change is as good as a rest,” David often said. This is surely the spirit in which he is launching his next journey. We can almost hear him and Mary reviving their habitual banter as she takes his hand and welcomes him on their new path: “It’s this way, David,” “Mary, you don’t know the first thing about it,” “Oh for Pete’s sake, David,” ….

Carry on, you inimitable, indefatigable souls!

Visitation will be 10-11 am Saturday, October 29 at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Funeral Centre, 375 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, followed by service at 11 am and reception at 12 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer Society or the Heart & Stroke Foundation would be appreciated.