Dad was a gentle man and a gentleman.
He was an accomplished organist, pianist, accompanist, conductor and choral director.
I remember vividly when I first heard Sheila sing O Mio Babbino Caro (Oh my beloved Daddy), Dank Sie dir Herr (Thanks be to Thee) and Care Selve (Come Beloved) accompanied so sensitively by her father, the hair stood up on the back of my neck and arms and they brought tears to my eyes. These were classical songs her father had taught her and every time they performed them together my response was the same, as the music and their performances transported me to a very special place. I was also transported when he would use the great swell of the organ at St James United church when the music he played coursed through my veins and my whole body vibrated with the power of the organ and the majesty of Bach's music and Dad's playing.
Dad also introduced me to Campari and soda in Florence, a drink I acquired a taste for which endures to this day. He also educated me on food and fine dining, and I recall the many fine meals we had at places like the Johann Strauss, Mozart Konditorei, and the Devonshire and Georgia hotel restaurants in Vancouver, when he came to visit Sheila and I in the early 1970's, and others in the years after.
He loved travel, was a master of grammar, and was very urbane in his knowledge of languages.
When Sheila and I were married in 1971 Angus and I agreed together that I should call him Dad. Although I lost my father when I was 12, it was not as a replacement father, but it was the connection we had made and a mutual respect we had that we both seemed to feel comfortable with me calling him Dad. When Dad married Jacky in 1974 it reunited the family of his first marriage to Vicki (Jacky's Aunt) who died the day after giving birth to Don and Sheila. It was in large part his life story that ignited my passion for genealogy which he helped me with, by providing me a great deal of information for which I am deeply grateful.
For the past 41 years I have been so proud to call him Dad and will miss his quiet gentleness, intellect, knowledge, kindness, love, sense of humour, grace and fortitude in the face of adversity.