Richard Gavin Reid

REID, Richard Gavin Passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario. At his side were his beloved wife of 63 years and best friend, Shirley (MacDonald), and his devoted family, sons James of Toronto and Donald (Julie) of Greenwich, Connecticut, and daughters, Shirley Reid How-
ell (H.D.), Barbara Reid, both of Toronto, and Cathy Reid Stran-
berg (James) of Weston, Massa-
chusetts. He is lovingly remem-
bered by his grandchildren James and Stuart Reid, Cheyne and Richard Reid and Maude, James and Olivia Stranberg. Dick is sur-
vived by his sisters Flora Maher and Kathleen Hunter (Gordon). He is predeceased by his parents, Richard Gavin and Marion Stuart Reid; his in-laws, Walter Augustus and Maude Johnson MacDonald, his brothers Stuart and James. Dick and his identical twin James were born on December 11, 1922 in Edmonton, Alberta. Like his brothers, Dick served in the RCAF in WWII and late in the war, he and all but one of his Halifax bomber crew-mates parachuted to safety near Hanover, Germany where they were eventually captured and interned as POW's until liber-
ated. After the war, he returned to Edmonton and began to build the foundations of his wonderful life. First he married Shirley, his childhood sweetheart, and then he enrolled at the University of Al-
berta and graduated as a chemi-
cal engineer. Fresh out of univer-
sity, Dick began a long and distin-
guished career with Imperial Oil and Exxon Corporation. Promo-
tions led him from Edmonton to Sarnia in 1956, to Toronto in '63, to New York in '67, back to Toron-
to in '69, to London, England in '75 and finally to Mendham, New Jersey in '86. Following his retire-
ment in 1988 as President of Exxon International, he and Shirley divided their time be-
tween London, Bermuda and Vic-
toria. Later, they returned to Toronto to be closer to their fam-
ily. They have also maintained a home at John's Island Club in Vero Beach, Florida. Dick led a full life but also believed that it was im-
portant to give back to the com-
munity. He was a former Chair-
man of Ryerson University, Chair-
man of the Mendelssohn Choir and Chairman of the Red Shield Campaign for Salvation Army in Toronto. A celebration of his re-
markable life will be held in the New Year. Condolences and memories may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.