In Celebration of
William « Don » Courtney
November 7, 1932 –
December 18, 2022
The legend of Port Credit and the eponymous Courtneypark Drive has left the arena. William Donaldson Courtney, “Gig” to early friends and “Don” to the rest, passed away two weeks after his beloved wife, Dawna. Married for almost 45 years, Don was bereft by his loss. He is mourned by his children Michael (Diane), Susanne (Kevin), and Diane (Chris). Don and Dawna Courtney mostly adored their grandchildren, Ashley, Colin, Aidan, Ben, Emma, Megan, and Hannah, and were getting acquainted with their great-grandchildren, Rhonan and Félix.
The youngest child of Tate and Margaret Courtney, Gig was born in 1932 in the kitchen of the family farm on Hwy 10 in Port Credit. Brother to Catherine Killaby, he was predeceased by his brother Hugh. What the Courtneys didn’t have in money, Don made up for it with hard work, hockey, and ambition.
A rascal from his earliest years, one tale had him buying his first car at 15 years old…so the story goes. It was a good car, with a crate for the driver’s seat and no brakes. One time Port Credit’s lone officer, someone Don undoubtedly knew well, tried to pull him over on Lakeshore Road. Not having any of it, he hit the gas and flew into the back seat. We’re not sure what happened next, but he lived to have many more fast cars.
Proud of his hardscrabble Irish and Scottish immigrant parents, there was a bond among the Irish boys that carried him through early construction work in Sarnia and Northern Quebec. In the late ’50s, his aunt, Pearl Irwin of Dufferin Tavern fame, lent him $3000 to buy his first Gradall in Manitoba. Don and his business partner, Brian Ambler, drove it to Port Credit and never looked back.
With Pearl’s initial investment, Dad and Brian, built a successful construction and property development company, greasing many a politician’s hands along the way to fortune. The business grew through hard work, discreet envelopes, and hundreds of cases of whiskey to the right doors. That may explain his attachment to Rob and Doug Ford.
A Port Credit boy, he and his first wife, Marion, built a home on Pinetree Crescent in 1962, moving in with their oldest son, Michael. Susanne arrived next, and Diane was born soon after. Parenting was a burden for a groovy guy with money and a love of fast cars and girls. He and Marion split in 1966. His bachelor pad at the Old Mill became the party palace for some years, so the tale goes. Eventually, he stepped up his parenting by bringing Mike, Susanne, and later Diane to work sites where they remained safely locked in the car while he shot the breeze with his buddies in the trailer.
Eventually, out-growing the Old Mill apartment, he bought the Scarlett Farm on Dixie Road and then, with his then-partner, Trudy Brunswig and her daughter Petra, they bought 100 acres in Caledon East. That farm was a source of great pride. Horses were bought, cattle were bred, and dogs ran across the fields to meet illicit canine lovers from nearby farms.
Dad loved his Arabian horse, Arkhan, who tried unsuccessfully to kill Susanne several times. Diane, unlike her sister, thrived around horses. He was proud of Diane’s courage and accomplishments in the challenging and often dangerous sport of Three-Day eventing. She competed at the highest levels for Ontario and was long-listed for the Canadian team with a Quarter Horse he learned about from his close friend and hacking partner, Jim Cook. He drove Diane and her horse, Counts Best, to Oklahoma City to compete in the World Championship Quarter Horse show where she placed 5th when she was only 15 years old.
Eventually, Trudy left, and he fell hard for Dawna Weaver. They married in 1978 in the Presbyterian Church in Caledon East on a snowy winter day.
Never turning down a property opportunity, he sold the first farm on Second Line and bought another up the road. They lived there for two years while building their dream farm on 100 acres across the street. Faced with many obstacles to building the house of their dreams, they pivoted to creating a dreamy, 5000’ home above the stables – the only building they could obtain a permit for, after aggravating the Building Department and Counsellors at the Town of Caledon.
Parkmoor was more than a barn with a living area upstairs. It was a gathering place for friends and family. Dad and Dawna were gifted hosts, and their parties were legendary. It was also where all the generations of Courtneys gathered for holidays. The grandchildren will hold those memories in their hearts.
Dad was never happier than those years puttering around Parkmoor on his tractor, planting trees in the fall and plowing snow in the winter. Dad spent hours in his machine shed where neighbours were always welcome to join him for a cold beer. He could never repair his equipment, but he always knew who could.
As age crept up, he finally gave in to Dawna’s desire to move back to the city – to an apartment where she didn’t have to keep up with gardens and cook for hordes. The Etobicoke apartment offered a well-deserved respite for Dawna. Dad was content if Dawna was happy.
Through his eighties and especially during the forced isolation of COVID, Dad’s mind became muddled, and his health declined. He came to rely on Rose de Lima Calumay a devoted and exceptional, personal support worker.
After showering Dawna’s grave with red roses at Clarkson’s Springcreek Cemetery on December 7th, he will soon join her there.
Friends and family are invited to join us to celebrate his life
Friday, January 13th
4-6 PM
Mississauga Golf and Country Club
1725 Mississauga Road, Mississauga
Ontario, L5H2K4
Sign the Guestbook
November 7 1932
December 18 2022
Nous offrons nos plus sincères condoléances à la famille et aux amis de William Don Courtney November 7 1932
December 18 2022 et espérons que leur souvenir pourra être une source de réconfort pendant cette période difficile. Vos pensées et vos mots aimables sont grandement appréciés.
turner & porter funeral directors
Décès pour la Ville:Mississauga, Province: Ontario