William DUNN

WILLIAM BURNSIDE DUNN Died peacefully at home in Ottawa, Ontario surrounded by his family on May 8, 2023 at the age of 86. He had been pushing back cancer for over 12 years and although the last four months were difficult he was still trudging through snow in early April to help his sons remove downed trees from the back trail at his country place in Lanark. This grit and determination is what helped him, along with his talent, to achieve success in the competitive commercial photography business of Toronto and later in filmmaking and multimedia productions. Bill leaves his wife of 45 years, Linda, who has lost her best friend and partner in life and in work; and six children: Anthony (Shan) of Calgary, Paula of Ottawa, and Mike (Susan Murumets) of Toronto from his first marriage; and twins Emily and Laura of Ottawa, and Sebastian (Carolyn) of Perth, Ontario from his marriage to Linda. He adored his grandchildren Claire McGee (Ottawa), Octavia Dunn-Murumets (Toronto), Bradley Thompson (Ottawa) and Will Dunn (Perth) and great grandchildren Lola and Milano (Ottawa). He will also be missed by his sister, Anne Meredith of Toronto; and his nieces and nephews. Bill was born in Toronto on February 22, 1937 to William Richard Dunn and Ada Dunn (nee Pearson). The family moved several times from city to country and back, making ends meet through the Depression and war years. His sister Anne taught him how to read before he went to school and he read voraciously all his life. When he became interested in photography his mother bought him his first camera, a box Brownie. Home and family, especially Anne, were his early subjects as he practised the art of 'seeing the light.' In high school he combined photography with a knack for business by taking class pictures and selling the prints. His first job was with the well-known Toronto portrait studio, Ashley & Crippen. He worked in the darkroom there with Percy, who taught him a lot about the arts of developing and printing. He also worked for Robert and Signe McMichael, founders of the McMichael Gallery, and society photographer M. Russell Reid. With his independent spirit, he soon embarked on his own self-directed career which took him on fashion shoots to London, Paris and Rome, and all over Canada doing a wide variety of assignments from annual reports to advertising and commercial work. Bill was among the first in Toronto to liberate the camera by using handheld 35mm for fashion. He refused to limit himself to one genre and could work equally well on location or in the studio. It was a time when photography was a dark art and you didn't know if you'd succeeded until the images appeared in the darkroom or came back from the lab. In his late thirties Bill decided to try a new challenge - filmmaking. He made several shorts and then made a half-hour documentary, 'Normandy Dream,' to tell the story of his friend and neighbour Jack Fleger who had been a corporal in World War II. That film sold to CBC-TV and was followed by 'Spitfire Pilot,' another CBC prime time documentary. Later he and his wife, Linda West, made a feature-length documentary called 'Hoodwinked: The Myth of Free Trade.' He was also an early adopter of computer technology and while the family was living for a period in Victoria, B.C., they began developing a digital Canadian history resource, 'A Country by Consent.' Bill was fiercely Canadian and identified with working people and outsiders. Even in grade school he befriended Ralph, a developmentally challenged boy who was ostracized by the others. They defended each other against the bullies and Bill lived the rest of his life that way. He never minced words and no one could be in doubt about where he stood on subjects of politics or economics – and it was never on the side of The Establishment. Bill loved historic properties and construction which led to many projects restoring old houses and commercial buildings he used as studios. He hired good professionals, but also worked on the jobs himself, never afraid to get his hands dirty. He was a visionary and could foresee the potential of neighbourhoods like Cabbagetown and Queen Street West in Toronto, before others did. He loved tractors and vegetable gardens and gooseberry jam made from his own berries. The bushes came from heritage cuttings he started at the much loved home of his mother in Beaverton, Ontario. When the physical projects slowed down, Bill turned to digitizing and restoring his large collection of old 78s in the log barn in Lanark that he managed to 'winterize' against all the odds. Many of these songs were played for him during his last days. He deeply loved what he called his free-range children, still offering advice, whether asked for or not, knowing they would listen, but ultimately decide for themselves as he would have done. Bill was always willing to take that unknown fork in the road, just to see where it could lead. He wasn't afraid of risk and had belief in himself. He approached life with a positive outlook and lived doing what he loved. Bill always saw the big picture, in every sense. The family is very grateful for the attentive nursing care of daughter-in-law Carolyn and her sister, Katie Kirkwood, who made it possible for Bill to stay in the comfort of his own bed at home. A celebration of Bill's life will be held at his country property in Lanark later this spring.