An Iv

Ivan Thomas Whittington (December 13, 1928 - December 9, 2016) Losing our Dad leaves a big gap for us. We are going to miss him so much. He passed four days before his 88th birthday. We are thankful he died with no pain and great calm. He lived a joyful life - always a smile and happy to share time with others. Up until the last few years, he had lived a very healthy life. When he had his health, he loved to walk 5 km a day enjoying people around the village of Campbellville where he lived with his son Marcus, daughter-in-law Lisa and grandson, Elias. Over the last few years, Parkinson's began to limit his mobility creating more challenges for him. A large and inoperable Aortic Aneurysm discovered in January, 2016 eventually took his life. Our Dad loved nature, art, music, poetry, puzzles, food and meeting people wherever he went. He was a people person with great curiosity and always had a joke or story ready to share with anyone who would listen. He was born in Pevensey Ontario, (near Sundridge). He loved Northern Ontario often visiting the old homestead and family and friends. It is here that he lived with his parents Margaret and Ernest (deceased) and his siblings Lloyd (deceased), Mary Kent (deceased), Elgin (deceased), Fred and Margaret Dearing. Fred visited hours before his death and Margaret spoke with him the day before. He was able to travel to see Margaret in Sault Ste Marie this fall. He is also survived by a sister-in-law (Thora) and a brother-in-law (Bert) and many nieces and nephews across North America. He always enjoyed his family. When his sister Mary was alive you would often see the two of them playing a game of crokinole at her home in Burks Falls. When he married our Mom (Mary) (deceased - 2000) she brought into the marriage a big huge family from the Gaspe Coast. They are the infamous Campbell family who he loved. They welcomed him with open arms and treated him like a son. He was able to travel there this past spring. From a young 25 year old, he loved the annual visits to the Campbell farm and travelling the east coast of Canada. Thank you to the Campbell family for their love and support of our Dad. And then there is us, his kids: Nelson (Texas), Nora (Waterloo) and Marcus (Campbellville). We loved our Dad a lot. His light hearted ways and his smiles, jokes and chats often made life easier to manage. We will miss that. He was always interested in our lives, our spouses (Judy, Steve and Lisa) and loved his grandchildren; Lindsay (Kevin), Landon and Lauren (each fromTexas), Reese and Tessa (Waterloo) and Elias (Campbellville). He was always so interested in them and their lives. We want to thank his church family at the Omagh Church of Christ for being loving and supportive of our Dad. A special thank you to Harold for his visits and for being a good friend. We also want to thank all the people who have cared for him in the home over the last year. A special thank you to Judy, Bill and Michelle. You went above and beyond and our dad appreciated your support and friendship. We want to thank Dr. Gilbert, Dad's family physician for his great care and for being in ER when Dad arrived in the early hours on December 7. Thank you to the nursing team and staff at Milton General Hospital. Nelson and Nora would like to say thank you to Marcus, Lisa and Elias for really being there for Dad these past few years as he lost his independence and his health. We know you cared deeply and we are so thankful to each of you. Join us in celebrating our Dad's life on Thursday, December 15, 2016. We will begin in Burk's Falls, Ontario at the Opatovsky Funeral Home-Dempster Chapel, 210 Ontario Street, Burks Falls with visitation 10-11 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. for family and friends of the north. There will be a memorial service also on Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Omagh Church of Christ, 9850 Brittania Road, Milton (Bronte Road. S and Brittania Road)) for family and friends of the south. A burial will take place in the spring at the Pevensey Cemetery. In the meantime, we know our Dad is in God's great hands and will be sharing some stories and jokes in heaven. Thanks for being our Dad. We will miss you. If you are interested in donating, we have selected the Parkinson's Society for donations. donating@parkinson.ca or www.parkinson.ca