Peter MCPARLAND

Peter McParland
Our Dad fought a short but intense period of illness before he died on May 9. With his wife Marie-France he sought every possible medical intervention for his condition. When it became clear he was facing his last days he accepted the prognosis and made a point of making the very best of the time he had left. He indulged in a final (forbidden) martini (Beefeater, with a twist) and watched the Jays on TV, welcoming any visitors who arrived, and who were usually more upset than he was.
It seemed appropriate that he would fill the end with sports, since it's what had helped get him through his youth as well. A natural athlete, known in his youth as 'Moose,' he won a junior hockey championship with the St. Mikes Buzzers and followed that with a Grey Cup ring with the Montreal Alouettes. He was excellent at baseball and tennis. Only golf seemed to elude him, though he stuck with it anyway, with his great friend Eddie Black at Mississaugua Golf Club, where he was a member for almost 50 years.
He considered a career as a pro athlete, but pragmatism won out. The day he showed up at Kingsway Lumber, he said, he knew he was in the right place. He worked his way up from the yard to the front office and eventually went out on his own. There were lots of ups and some very difficult downs but Tall Tree thrives to this day, a testament to what determination and drive can do. In his last moments he was still on the job in his mind, worrying about billings and deliveries, a true pro.
Success let him indulge some of his many interests, with travelling and birding at the top of the list. With our Mom, Gloria, and later with Marie, he seemed intent on visiting every corner of the globe you could reach by air, ship or otherwise to observe the local cultures and sample their food and wine, and he became an enthusiastic oenophile. As the years rolled by his true passion emerged as he taught himself to become a fine birder. It meant nothing to spend a week on some frozen Aleutian island if there was a new bird involved. His later years were spent wintering in Tucson where he would eagerly wait for spring migration. By the end of his life Dad was considered an expert in the field; his enthusiasm never wavered.
Family was important, and Dad leaves behind a large and loving one: grandchildren Emily, Claire and Sam; Sean, Laura and Kyle; Colin and Rose; Leigh and great-grandchildren: Laura and Adam's Scarlett and Lucy, Sean and Laura-Lee's little James, and Emily and Mike's baby Alice.
He seemed overwhelmed with the attention he received in his last days. He didn't want a lot of fuss when he was gone, and he will be interred quietly where he requested, at the family plot in Brockville. Paula and Dave Hall, Kelly and Coleen McParland, Brian and Catherine McParland, Pat and Kathy McParland, and his loving wife Marie will be there to send him off. Dad worked hard for everything he got, and the values he passed on to his children and grandchildren will forever be appreciated. Love you always.