David Chamberlain
February 14, 1932 – November 19, 2019
David passed away November 19, 2019 with jazz playing in the background and a pipe in his hand. Dave was predeceased by his beloved Dorothy, by his brothers Ralph and Jack and his sister-in-law Maureen. Survived by his daughter Susan (Rick), son John (Diana), by his grandchildren Jordan (Regan), Curtis (Shannon), Mike and Emma. Also survived by his special friend, Marilyn Franks, sister-in-law Evelyn, many nieces and nephews and by his golden 1973 Mustang convertible.
Good luck followed David Chamberlain all his life
Born in Toronto, David had brothers Ralph and Jack who were nine and eight years older. They helped him a lot with school stuff, which gave him an early start.
When he was 14, his Mother and Dad (Ralph and Nora) moved with him to Santa Rosa California. One day at school, his English teacher mentioned that the journalism class was looking for students. He applied, got accepted and was on his way to a forty-year career.
A few years later, the family moved to Victoria B.C. Having no special talents he applied to The Victoria Times with no success. Then his parents bought a house through a real estate agent who had been a Battle of Britain pilot with the publisher of The Colonist. He was hired as a reporter at The Colonist just before his nineteenth birthday.
A friend at The Colonist gave David a letter of introduction to an editor of The Toronto Telegram and in 1952 David was hired and sent as a ‘foreign correspondent’ to Oakville, which was booming with a new Ford plant under construction. It was a lucky introduction to Oakville.
After an altercation with an editor, David moved into public relations with Public and Industrial Relations (PIR) in 1955.
Then came his biggest stroke of luck. One night at a party he met Dorothy and they were married eight months later. She was his best friend and social crutch until her death in 2005.
The insurance industry was one of PIR’s biggest clients and luckily David had a deep interest in insurance because his father had been an insurance agent. He quickly became lead account executive and in January 1967 moved to Montreal to become a loaned in-house counsel for All Canada Insurance Federation. Luckily, Expo was that year and David and Dorothy had a wonderful time.
All Canada Insurance Federation was merged with Insurance Bureau of Canada in Toronto the following year and Dorothy and David moved with it. Luckily, Dorothy agreed after a lot of hesitation to live in Oakville. They were lucky in real estate and even more lucky that an English firm bought out PIR in the 1980”s allowing David to retire in 1989. He then dedicated his time to various volunteer endeavours and to chauffeuring grandchildren. Until Dorothy’s illness they travelled almost constantly. Luckily, Dorothy had a part-time job at a travel agency which made travelling easier and less expensive.
Dorothy had amassed a vast circle of friends and luckily most of them remained friends of David’s until his death.
David’s family deeply appreciated the assistance of Acclaim Health and Ian Anderson House Hospice, two wonderful charities.
A big party in celebration of David’s life will be held at a later date.
February 14 1932 November 19 2019
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de David Chamberlain February 14 1932 November 19 2019..
Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home
Décès pour la Ville:Oakville, Province: Ontario